April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s retail giant Lotte said on July 30 a new department in charge of the business group’s online businesses is set to be launched this week as the conglomerate revs up efforts to cope with the rapid expansion of the country’s online market.

Earlier in May, Lotte unveiled the plan to inject 3 trillion won (US$2.69 billion) into its e-commerce business in the next five years, integrating online malls that have been separately operated by its affiliates into one with an aim to generate 20 trillion won in sales by 2022.

The new e-commerce department, set to launch Wednesday, will be responsible for a new platform that encompasses seven of the business group’s retail subsidiaries, including the department store business and discount store chain.

With some 1,400 employees, the new branch aims to launch a new mobile app in 2020. It plans to hire 400 additional workers by next year.

“The new app will become a platform that provides optimized services based on our massive customer data,” Kim Kyoung-ho, who will lead the new organization, said, noting that nearly 22 million customers are using Lotte online every month.

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