April 19, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] Sales of Lotte Mart, in China dropped nearly 65 percent in the first eight months of this year in the face of Beijing’s retaliation over Seoul‘s installation of THAAD missile system, data showed on Oct. 13.

According to the data provided by Lotte to Rep. Kim Su-min for the ongoing parliamentary audit, its sales came to 410 billion won (US$362 million), down 64.7 percent from 1.16 trillion won tallied for January to August of 2016.

Lotte recently decided to withdraw its discount store business from the Chinese market, after suffering from punitive measures taken by Beijing.

According to Lotte, 87 out of 99, or 87.9 percent, of Lotte Mart stores in China have suspended operations as of Wednesday.

The retailer said it is expected to log 450 billion won in sales this year, down 1.22 trillion won, or 73.1 percent, on-year under the current conditions. Its operating losses are estimated to reach 250 billion won during the cited period.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)