Lotte Department Store foreigner sales top 1 trillion won, first in industry
Version 3: No substantive change to the milestone itself; the updated report adds rival figures from more outlets, a projection that Lotte's full-year total could exceed 1.3 trillion won, and a note that the three department stores count different sales categories.
In short
Lotte Department Store said its cumulative foreigner sales this year passed 1 trillion won on the morning of Oct 6, the first time a Korean department store has reached that level in a year. The company said it had already surpassed last year's industry-high annual figure of 734.8 billion won in July, led by Lotte Town Myeongdong at about 520 billion won. Shinsegae and Hyundai are also expected to reach 1 trillion won this year, according to Yonhap, Newsis, Seoul Economic Daily and others.
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Lotte Department Store said its cumulative foreigner sales this year passed 1 trillion won on the morning of Oct 6, the first time a Korean department store has exceeded that level in a year, according to the company and multiple outlets. The company said it had already surpassed last year's industry-high annual foreigner sales of 734.8 billion won in July, with about three months left in the year. Yonhap and others described the mark as an industry first. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 , 19 ]
Lotte Town Myeongdong drove the total, recording about 520 billion won in foreigner sales, the company said; Seoul Economic Daily said that was more than half of the total. Lotte Town Jamsil's foreigner sales doubled from a year earlier, and customers from the Americas and Europe made up 35 percent of that, up 15 percentage points from 2019, according to the company and Kyunghyang Shinmun and Seoul Economic Daily. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 ]
Foreigner spending also spread beyond the capital region. Lotte said sales at its stores outside the capital area rose more than 2.5 times from a year earlier, with Busan stores up 150 percent and Jeonju and Gwangju stores in the Honam region up 100 percent. The company said luxury and K-fashion foreigner sales each more than doubled and food hall and restaurant foreigner sales rose 50 percent, describing a shift from past purchases concentrated in luxury goods and cosmetics toward K-fashion, beauty, food and lifestyle products. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
Lotte said it will expand sign-up for its Lotte Tourist Membership card online, add unmanned issuance terminals, extend foreigner shopping benefits to major provincial stores and run promotions for the Chinese National Day holiday. CEO Jung Hyun-suk said, “It is meaningful to set a new milestone by opening the era of 1 trillion won in foreigner sales for the first time in the department store industry,” and said the company would strengthen differentiated shopping experiences and content for global customers. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 13 , 17 ]
Competitors are close behind. Yonhap, Newsis, Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy and Hankook Ilbo reported that Shinsegae and Hyundai are also expected to reach 1 trillion won in annual foreigner sales within the year. Seoul Economic Daily said Shinsegae stood at 850 billion won as of end-September, more than double a year earlier, while Hyundai recorded 805 billion won through Oct 5; The Hyundai Seoul's foreigner sales rose 135 percent this year and about one in four visitors there is foreign. Newsis and Hankook Ilbo said one in three visitors to Shinsegae's Myeongdong main store is foreign, and Shinsegae's Busan Centum City store also doubled foreigner sales. [ 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]
Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy and Hankook Ilbo noted that the companies count different categories: Lotte and Hyundai include outlet and mall sales in their figures, while Shinsegae counts department store sales only. Dong-A Ilbo reported that Lotte's foreigner sales were about double the 510.1 billion won recorded by the same date last year, rising from 415 billion won in 2024 to 734.8 billion won last year, and said that if the current trend continues this year's total is expected to exceed 1.3 trillion won. [ 9 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 19 ]
Why it matters
The mark is presented by Lotte and multiple outlets as evidence that foreign tourist spending at Korean department stores has moved past a previous ceiling, with interest spreading from Seoul to Busan, Jeonju and Gwangju. Lotte's plans to widen foreigner membership sign-up and benefits to provincial stores suggest retailers expect the flow of overseas shoppers to continue. Outlets say rivals Shinsegae and Hyundai may reach the same level within the year, pointing to an industry-wide shift. Figures are not directly comparable, however, because outlets count different store categories.
Key facts
- Lotte Department Store said its cumulative foreigner sales this year passed 1 trillion won on the morning of Oct 6. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- It is the first time annual foreigner sales at a Korean department store have exceeded 1 trillion won, according to the company and multiple reports. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- The company said it had already passed last year's industry-high annual foreigner sales of 734.8 billion won in July, about three months before the end of the year. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 , 19 ]
- Lotte Town Myeongdong accounted for about 520 billion won of this year's foreigner sales, the company said, more than half the total according to Seoul Economic Daily. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- Lotte Town Jamsil's foreigner sales doubled from a year earlier, and customers from the Americas and Europe made up 35 percent of that, up 15 percentage points from 2019, the company said. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 ]
- The company said foreigner sales at stores outside the capital region rose more than 2.5 times from a year earlier, with Busan up 150 percent and Jeonju and Gwangju stores up 100 percent. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- Yonhap, Newsis, Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy and Hankook Ilbo reported that Shinsegae and Hyundai are also expected to pass 1 trillion won in annual foreigner sales this year. [ 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy and Hankook Ilbo said the companies count different categories: Lotte and Hyundai include outlets and malls while Shinsegae counts department store sales only. [ 9 , 12 , 13 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Lotte Department Store said its cumulative foreigner sales this year passed 1 trillion won on the morning of Oct 6. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- It is the first time a Korean department store has exceeded 1 trillion won in annual foreigner sales, according to the company and multiple outlets. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- The company said it surpassed last year's industry-high annual foreigner sales of 734.8 billion won in July. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 , 19 ]
- Lotte Town Myeongdong recorded about 520 billion won of this year's foreigner sales, the company said. [ 2 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- Lotte Town Jamsil's foreigner sales doubled from a year earlier, with customers from the Americas and Europe making up 35 percent of that, the company said. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 ]
- The company said foreigner sales at stores outside the capital region rose more than 2.5 times from a year earlier, with Busan up 150 percent and Jeonju and Gwangju stores up 100 percent. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 ]
- Foreigner sales of luxury goods and K-fashion each more than doubled this year and food hall and restaurant foreigner sales rose 50 percent, the company said. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 ]
- Yonhap and other outlets reported that Shinsegae and Hyundai are also expected to reach 1 trillion won in annual foreigner sales within the year. [ 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]
Still unclear
- Detailed breakdowns such as the 520 billion won Myeongdong figure and category growth rates come from Lotte Department Store and were not independently verified in the documents. They are repeated by several outlets but all trace to company data.
- Whether Shinsegae and Hyundai will reach 1 trillion won in foreigner sales this year. Reported as expectations by Yonhap, Newsis and business outlets, not confirmed by the companies themselves in the documents.
- Comparisons between Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai foreigner sales. Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy and Hankook Ilbo say the counting scopes differ, so the figures are not directly comparable.
- The exact full-year foreigner sales Lotte will record. Documents describe the rate of growth through the year but give no full-year total beyond the 1 trillion won milestone, aside from a Dong-A Ilbo projection of more than 1.3 trillion won.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Kukmin Ilbo reports in a headline that Lotte Department Store's foreigner sales topped 1 trillion won, with 520 billion won in Myeongdong alone. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reports that Lotte's cumulative foreigner sales passed 1 trillion won on the morning of Oct 6, the first such case in the industry. [ 2 ]
- Newsis reports the industry-first mark in a headline, describing it as a symbolic achievement. [ 4 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports the milestone, quoting a company official as calling it a symbolic achievement showing a turning point in foreign customer inflow. [ 5 ]
- Yonhap reports in a follow-up that Shinsegae and Hyundai are also expected to reach 1 trillion won within the year. [ 6 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reports the 1 trillion won mark, detailing Myeongdong, Jamsil and provincial-store performance and quoting CEO Jung Hyun-suk. [ 7 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the milestone including outlets and malls and gives competitor figures for Shinsegae and Hyundai. [ 9 ]
- Newsis reports in a round-up that all three major department stores are expected to pass 1 trillion won this year, with Lotte first. [ 10 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports the record and the rivals' approach, noting Lotte's foreigner membership card has 250,000 accumulated sign-ups. [ 13 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports that if the current trend continues Lotte's full-year foreigner sales are expected to exceed 1.3 trillion won. [ 19 ]