Lotte has confirmed that its 123-floor, 556-metre tall $3.3bn Lotte World Tower will open next month with two dedicated duty free floors.

 

The company has confirmed that work is almost completed on the project in the Chamshil area of Gangnam, southern Seoul, which will include a 6-star hotel, a luxury department store and shopping complex, plus a two storey duty free shop designed to serve group tour customers.

 

The Lotte Avenue Tower shopping complex will be laid out over eight floors. According to Park, floors 1 to 6 will house a department store while floors 7 and 8 will be dedicated to the new Lotte World Tower Duty Free Shop.

 

“We will open the Lotte World Tower shop Phase 1 in May and then add more space at the end of 2016,” said Robert Sang Yeong Park, Managing Director, Business Development Division, Lotte Duty Free. “We will have all the Lotte World boutiques, shops, watches and perfume & cosmetics brands.

 

“Every big brand will be there in Phase 1, then we will give the brands more space in Phase 2. We are planning the retail floor layout now. One floor probably will be for perfume and cosmetics, watches and fashion, and one floor for luxury boutiques. Some medium range brands which do not open boutiques in Phase 1 will open in Phase 2.”

 

Robert Sang Yeong Park, Managing Director, Business Development Division, Lotte Duty Free.

 

ONE OF ASIA’S LARGEST STORES

The Lotte World Tower shop is planned to be one of the largest duty free store in Asia and will cover 16,000sq m when Phase 2 opens at the end of 2016. Phase 1 will cover 11,000sq m and Phase 2 an additional 5,000sq m.

 

“Lotte World Tower shop Phase 1 will open in the eighth floor building annex next to the Tower building. We will open the shop on annex’s 7th and 8th floors and then expand to the tower building where our store will correspond to the Tower’s 8th and 9th floors,” Park explained.

 

“We will add two 2,500sq m retail floor areas in the Tower block to the Phase 1 shop, so each floor will cover 8,000sq m. Lotte Avenuel department store will be on the annex building’s 1st to 6th floors.”

 

Lotte World Tower duty free shop will replace the company’s nearby Lotte World duty free store, which is located in the Lotte World hotel, shopping and theme park complex. Lotte World duty free store will close as soon as Lotte World Tower shop opens.

 

The space now occupied by Lotte World duty free shop will return to Lotte World department store for use as additional retail space.

 

Lotte World duty free shop is Lotte Group’s second largest downtown store after the flagship store. Lotte World serves Korean customers living in the Gangnam area along with Chinese group tours.

 

Another artist’s impression view of the Lotte World Tower from the south.

 

LOTTE WORLD SALES UP 18.5%

Duty free sales at Lotte World reached around $300m in 2013, showing an 18.5% increase compared with sales the previous year. The Lotte World Tower shop retail layout is planned to cater to local Korean residents and Chinese group tours.

 

With additional floor space available, Lotte plans to display a wider range of merchandise for each brand than has been possible in its Lotte World store.

 

“The Lotte World Tower shop corridors will be wider for Chinese tour groups and we will expand the luxury brand displays,” explained Kim Joon Soo, Merchandising Division Managing Director at Lotte Duty Free.

 

“We will increase space for Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Hermès, Chanel, Prada, Gucci and others. We want their boutiques to be more spacious to cater to Chinese customers wanting a good shopping experience.

 

“We will display a full range of products. We are asking luxury brands to display their full line, for example, for Cartier to show their full bridal display. We will offer about 100sq m to 150sq m extra space to top brands on top of their existing space.”

Each floor will comprise huge ceilings.

 

MULTIPLE STORE ENTRANCES

A 3.4 metre ceiling height is being used in the Lotte World Tower store to create a feeling of spaciousness. Chiffon and indirect lighting will be used to create an effect of the sun shining through white clouds.

 

Other features will include a large number of HD TV screens located around the store giving details of products and special promotions. Customers will be able to enter the Tower duty free store through several entrances on each of the two floor levels.

 

Three sets of escalators are being installed to connect the two duty free shop floors internally with two sets of escalators connecting with the annex building basement floor level, which has a station entrance for the Seoul subway system.

 

“There will be a central atrium in the annex building connecting all floors in the department store and duty free store,” Kim said. “Chinese people like atriums as they give a spacious feeling; so we need more retail space, which is why we will use two floors in the adjacent Tower block.”