A beauty section at Lotte Duty Free’s downtown Ginza duty free store, which opened last year.

Lotte Duty Free will target further business opportunities in Japan’s travel retail market to bolster its Tokyo Kansai International Airport and downtown Ginza tax free stores, TRBusiness understands.

A report from respected Japanese daily newspaper The Asahi Shimbun had claimed that South Korea’s duty free giant plans to open ‘airport-style’ stores in Fukuoka and Osaka in 2019 to tap into the growing international tourist market.

“At this point, we are planning to expand our business to many locations including Fukuoka and Osaka, however the exact location and time is not decided yet,” a Lotte source told TRBusiness.

“Even though we are planning to expand our business in the market, I am afraid there is not much to say for now because the details are not settled, including the year (of entry).”

TEN-YEAR PLAN

As previously reported by TRBusiness, the Seoul-based travel retailer had announced plans to open four to five stores in other regions in Japan as it targets total store sales of KRW1tn/ $860m in the next decade.

At 4,396sq m, its Ginza store in downtown Tokyo – which opened last year – benefits from the entertainment and shopping district’s 20m visitor haul per year.

The store offers hundreds of brands in categories covering watches, jewellery, cosmetics, perfumes, electronics and accessories.