JAPAN. Lotte Duty Free has today unveiled its fully renovated downtown store in Tokyo Ginza, marking the first major revamp since its opening eight years ago.
The travel retailer has acquired its first downtown duty-free store licence in Japan in 1986, allowing it to open the largest duty-free outlet in the Tokyo area.
The 4,396sq m location occupies the eighth and ninth floors in the Tokyu Plaza Ginza shopping centre near Ginza Station, attracting high foot traffic.
The grand opening ceremony was attended by over 150 people, led by Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Ju-nam; Lotte Future Growth Office Executive Director of Growth Shin Yoo-yeol; and Lotte Holdings CEO Kenichi Tamatsuka.
Among the highlights of the celebration was the appearance of brand ambassadors and K-pop idol group RIIZE.
The event included a presentation of the business strategy for the Tokyo Ginza store, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, photo opportunities and a store tour.
During the business strategy presentation with the Japanese media, Kim Ju-nam outlined Lotte Duty Free’s strategy for the Japanese duty-free market. He highlighted the company’s ambition to implement a “hybrid” strategy that operates both post-duty-free (tax free) and pre-duty-free (duty free) simultaneously through the renovation of the Ginza store.
Kim Ju-nam said: “The Tokyo Ginza store, which has been renovated after eight years, will make a comeback by satisfying both local Japanese customers and foreign tourists through a hybrid strategy. Lotte Duty Free will secure new driving forces in the global market and evolve into a sustainable platform.”
K-fashion focus
Following the three-month renovation works, Lotte Duty Free has introduced a wide range of offers at the Tokyo Ginza store location.
The eighth floor features a ‘post-duty-free’ space including character merchandise, fashion brands and miscellaneous goods, while the ninth floor is a dedicated ‘pre-duty-free’ venue focused on cosmetics, perfumes and wines & spirits.
Post-duty-free allows local customers to purchase items and receive tax refunds on the spot.
The eighth floor is split into two sections – ‘Ginza Road’ and ‘Ginza Friends’. Ginza Road presents a diverse range of categories from drugstores to K-fashion and K-pop merchandise items.
Notably, Lotte Duty Free has launched Musinsa, showcasing popular K-fashion brands among the local MZ generation, such as Covernat, Stand Oil, Glowny and Grove.
In addition, the Ginza store now features K-pop goods shop Ktown4u, as well as character speciality store Ginza Friends, offering over 3,000 popular products such as Bellygom, Zanmang Loopy and One Piece.
More duty-free offers are available on the ninth floor, featuring the first House of Suntory in the Kanto region. The store offers the Japanese drinks company’s single malt expression from its Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki collections.
Customers can also find a strong line-up of beauty brands, including IPSA, NARS and Pola.
To celebrate the grand reopening, the retailer has launched various promotional activities. Until 31 October, all items on the eighth floor will be offered at a discount of up to -10%.
Customers making qualifying purchases will receive various rewards, including a photo booth session and photo cards with RIIZE.
Furthermore, customers who purchase products at Lotte Duty Free’s Tokyo Ginza store until the end of the year will have the chance to win an album signed by RIIZE through a lucky draw.
On other news, the travel retailer highlighted its strategy to ensure future competitiveness by focusing on identifying new growth engines outside of its duty-free operations.
In August, Lotte Duty Free officially opened a B2B platform named ‘KATZ’, connecting K-fashion brands with global buyers. It also opened an offline showroom in the Tokyo Ginza store.
Additionally, products from its own online direct shopping mall, Ginza Japan Direct Purchase, are sourced directly from its Tokyo Ginza branch to enhance price competitiveness and build customer trust.
Various products are offered at an average price that is about -30% lower than on other Japanese direct purchase sites. ✈
