SEOUL — Lotte Department Store has crossed a major milestone in South Korea’s retail industry, surpassing 1 trillion won ($744 million) in cumulative sales to foreign customers this year and becoming the first Korean department store operator to reach the mark.
The achievement comes as international visitors increasingly look beyond traditional luxury shopping and spend more on K-fashion, K-food, beauty and Korean lifestyle experiences.
Lotte had already exceeded its previous annual foreign-customer sales record of 734.8 billion won in July. By Oct. 6, cumulative sales had passed the 1 trillion won threshold, nearly three months before the end of the year.
Myeong-dong Remains the Biggest Magnet
Lotte’s operations in Myeong-dong, one of Seoul’s most popular tourist shopping districts, generated approximately 520 billion won in foreign-customer sales — more than half of the companywide total.
The Jamsil complex also recorded foreign sales roughly double those of the previous year. Customers from North America and Europe accounted for 35 percent of foreign sales there, highlighting a broader customer base beyond traditional Asian tourist markets.
But perhaps the more significant development is happening outside Seoul.
Foreign-customer sales at Lotte stores outside the greater Seoul area increased more than 2.5 times year over year. Busan stores posted a 150 percent increase, while stores in Jeonju and Gwangju recorded roughly 100 percent growth.
K-Fashion and K-Food Join Luxury Shopping
Foreign visitors are also changing what they buy.
Luxury sales to foreign customers more than doubled compared with the previous year, while K-fashion sales also doubled. Spending in food halls and restaurant areas increased by 50 percent.
The trend suggests that international shoppers are increasingly treating Korean department stores as destinations for experiencing local culture, rather than simply places to purchase global luxury brands.
Lotte plans to expand its tourist membership program, including online preregistration, and extend foreign-customer shopping benefits to regional locations such as Daegu, Daejeon, Jeonju and Pohang.
The surge is not limited to Lotte. Shinsegae recorded 850 billion won in foreign-customer sales during January-September, while Hyundai Department Store reached 805 billion won. Both are expected to approach or exceed the 1 trillion won mark this year.
South Korea’s department stores are therefore entering a new phase of competition — one increasingly shaped by international visitors and the global popularity of Korean culture.
And with foreign shoppers now venturing beyond Seoul, the next retail battleground may not be where everyone expects.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
