April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korean retail giant Lotte on May 31 said it has unified the management of its scattered fashion businesses under the group’s apparel affiliate to secure competitiveness in the local fashion industry.

Lotte Shopping, operator of the conglomerate‘s department store chain, said shareholders of its fashion business unit NCF approved the company’s decision to change the corporation name to Lotte GFR -- which stands for global fashion retail -- earlier in the day.

Under its reorganization move, the department store’s global fashion business unit has been transferred to the new company.

Founded in 2003, NCF was acquired by Lotte for 19 billion won (US$18 million) in 2010.

“We will be able to create synergies by combining the capabilities of a retailer and a fashion company,” Seol Poong-jin, head of Lotte GFR, said.

The new company aims to generate 1 trillion won in revenue by 2022 through development of new labels, imports of renowned overseas brands and active mergers and acquisitions.

The two units’ combined sales currently stand at around 200 billion won, with some 300 stores under operation at Lotte’s outlets.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)