SOUTH KOREA. In a hugely ambitious initiative underlining its twin focus on “˜Creating Shared Value’ and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Lotte Duty Free has unveiled “˜Under Stand Avenue’, a spectacular community project set to create 6,000 local jobs over the next five years.
The project is one of the biggest CSR programmes in global travel retail history.
On 20 August the Korean travel retail giant held a ground-breaking ceremony for the project in Seoul Forest, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. The event was attended by some 100 people, including Lotte Duty Free President Hong-Kyun Lee; Seongdong-gu Mayor Won-o Chong; and Chairman of non-profit organisation Arcon In-Jung Heo.
Under Stand Avenue is being built and funded at a cost of KW10.2 billion (US$8.6 million) which Lotte Duty Free has donated to Arcon.
As reported , Lotte Duty Free parent, Hotel Lotte, is about to launch an IPO that is the talk of Korean investment circles and is expected to attract huge interest.
Under Stand Avenue involves seven social contribution projects based on the needs of various groups. The schemes will provide differentiated career programmes for those groups as well as cultural space for the general public. |
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“Under Stand Avenue, as a new model of CSR which sees corporations and communities co-exist, is expected to play a huge role in building the foundations of ‘the creative economy’“ |
Hong-Kyun Lee CEO Lotte Duty Free |
Under Stand Avenue is being constructed using second-hand shipping containers in a 3,966.94sq m area of fallow land near Seoul Forest. The job creation efforts are targeted at vulnerable social groups, allowing them to become independent. The project will also create a unique cultural space for the citizens of Seoul. All profits will be reinvested in the development.
The Moodie Report will reveal further innovative aspects of the initiative in an exclusive feature coming soon.
Hong-Kyun Lee said: “Under Stand Avenue, as a new model of CSR which sees corporations and communities co-exist, is expected to play a huge role in building the foundations of ‘the creative economy’.
“Lotte Duty Free will proceed with a variety of social contribution projects, such as job creation, by making the best of our core abilities,” he pledged.
The company described the project as a “new model” of CSR through which a corporation and its community focus on what Lotte has dubbed “˜Creating Shared Value’ (CSV)
Lotte Duty Free signed a MOU for the project in January, emphasising that it wanted to do more than simply being a corporate donor. “By creating shared value with society, we will lead the development of Under Stand Avenue by utilising our PR and marketing abilities,” it commented.
“By creating a space in which artists, citizens and the vulnerable can participate, Lotte Duty Free is suggesting a new model of CSR. We plan to extend the model into various regions, so that we contribute to the development of the creative economy.”
SEVEN SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION PROJECTS
Under Stand Avenue involves seven separate social contribution projects.
Each is based on the needs of various groups. The schemes will provide differentiated career programmes for those groups as well as cultural space for the general public.
The projects are being developed on a phased basis with a Grand Opening slated for late October.
“˜Youth Stand’, for example, is a career training programme already underway since July that includes knowledge of coffee-making & serving, baking and nail art education for teenagers.
This month “˜Open Stand’ commences with a contest to win free store space leasing in Under Stand Avenue. It is aimed at worthy social enterprises and SMEs (small & medium enterprises).
Lotte Duty Free said: “Every programme in Under Stand Avenue will be completed with citizens’ participation and everyone can enjoy them. A variety of cultural facilities and space, including a theatre, an exhibition hall and a roof garden, will invigorate Under Stand Avenue.”
In an interview with The Moodie Report in Seoul last week, Lotte Duty Free Marketing Director Bo Joon Kim (pictured below) said: “Lotte Duty Free and the Lotte Group think that Corporate Social Responsibility and the concept of creating shared value are equally important. It’s not just about giving money but about creating shared value between the community and the corporate world.”
Semantically, the concept of “˜Under Stand’ neatly brings together the notions of minority groups (“˜under’) and helping them become independent (to “˜stand’ for themselves), as well as the overall concept of “˜understanding’, he explained.
A call for greater understanding: An artist’s rendering of Lotte Duty Free’s ambitious, multi-tiered Corporate Social Responsibility project |
Lotte Duty Free Marketing Director Bo Joon Kim: “It’s not just about giving money but about creating shared value between the community and the corporate world.” |
ABOUT UNDER STAND AVENUE
* Around 6,000 jobs created over five years
* A sustainable CSR model involving
* A blend of corporation and community efforts in “˜Creating Shared Value’ (CSV)
* Provides opportunities for greater independence of society’s vulnerable through education
* Includes career training programmes for the young
* Shops, restaurants and cafes to create jobs for society’s most vulnerable groups
* Theatres and exhibition halls to encourage and nurture up and coming artists and designers, invigorating Korean culture and the fashion business
Groundbreaking initiative: Lotte Duty Free President Hong-Kyun Lee; Chairman of non-profit organisation Arcon In-Jung Heo; and Seongdong-gu Mayor Won-o Chong join other VIPs at the formal unveiling of the project |
