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Lotte Duty Free makes its downtown duty free debut in Japan |
JAPAN. Lotte Duty Free today unveiled its new downtown duty free store in Tokyo’s Ginza district, a move the company said was “a stepping stone” to becoming the world’s number one travel retailer. [Watch out for more images and an on location report from Senior Editor Peter Dowling shortly.]
The store – which at 4,396sq m is said to be the largest duty free outlet in the Tokyo area – occupies two floors in the Tokyu Plaza Ginza shopping centre.
Lotte Duty Free anticipates that sales from the new store will hit KRW150 billion (US$131 million) in its first year. The company plans to open “four to five” more stores in other regions of Japan and expects that total sales will reach KRW1 trillion (US$880 million) within ten years.
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Red letter day: Lotte Duty Free management and invited VIPs prepare to cut the ribbon at the official opening of Lotte Duty Free Tokyo Ginza |
Lotte Duty Free said it is bringing “Korean-style downtown duty free shopping” to Tokyo and “takes the lead in expanding the Japanese market in earnest”.
The company said in a statement: “Since it opened the Lotte Duty Free Kansai store in 2014, Lotte Duty Free [has been] pioneering the Japanese market. The number of visitors per year to Ginza reaches 20 million and it is one of tourists’ favourite places.” The new store will become a “centre of shopping in Ginza”, added the company.
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Lotte Duty Free says the new downtown duty free store is the biggest in the Tokyo area; it features an array of brands from beauty to fashion over two floors |
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Lotte Duty Free Tokyo Ginza features 300 brands across categories such as watches & jewellery, cosmetics & fragrances, electronics and accessories. Popular Korean brands such as Whoo, Iope, Mediheal plus other SME brands will help to sustain and spread K-beauty and K-fashion trends in Japan, Lotte Duty Free added.
Lotte Duty Free President Sunwook Jang said: “Recently, Japan is rising as the biggest rival country [to Korea] in inviting Chinese tourists. We, by using the Tokyo Ginza store as a stepping stone, will strengthen the brand competitiveness and advance the date of [becoming] the global number one duty free shop.”
He added: “We will keep expanding overseas stores, publicise the competitiveness of Korean products and grow together with the SMEs in the overseas market.”
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Unveiling the new business: (L-r) Lotte Group Chairman Dongbin Shin, Lotte Duty Free President Sunwook Jang and Overseas Business Director Junsoo Kim tour the store |
Currently, Lotte Duty Free has overseas stores in Jakarta Airport, Jakarta downtown, Guam Airport and Kansai Airport and said it would “accelerate the expansion” of new overseas stores in Bangkok and Osaka.
Other leading figures to attend today’s inauguration included Lotte Group Chairman Dongbin Shin, Lotte Scholarship and Welfare Foundation Executive Director Youngja Shin and Lotte Duty Free partner, model Jiwoo Choi.
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Lotte Duty Free hosted a press event and celebration at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo to mark the opening |
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