Lotte Duty Free is being linked with the opening of its second ever overseas duty free airport store at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport during the second half of this year, according to a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap.

If confirmed, this would tally with the company’s comments to TREND earlier this year that it has been looking at opportunities to expand its duty free retail operations overseas (see story: www.trend-news.com/default.asp?newsid=9918″]

Chang Young Park, Lotte Duty Free’s Director of Strategy and Planning told TREND last May: “We prefer to do business in Asia – the Philippines is possible; also Indonesia, including Jakarta and other cities, perhaps Malaysia as well. 

“We are talking and negotiating now. We want to operate shops selling all categories of duty free goods. We have found a partner in each country and we are talking now.”

BACKGROUND:
If Lotte goes ahead in Indonesia, it will be the first direct overseas concession it has run. It did work in Russia for a small period, but only sub-letting a duty free space from Dufry at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, which has since closed. 

Prior to this it also ventured into confectionery on the supply side when its Lotte Confectionery division acquired 100% of Belgian chocolate company Guylian for $164m in June 2008.

A year ahead of this acquisition it also appeared to have won the liquor and tobacco concession at Singapore Changi Airport back in 2007 when the Lotte DFS division of the company was the top bidder monetary-wise, ahead of DFS Group. 

However, much to its disappointment, Changi airport management [the then CAAS-Ed] decided to go with the second-highest bidder DFS Group.

LOTTE’S EXISTING DF BUSINESS
Lotte’s total duty free sales revenue – including sales in the former AK Duty Free shops which it acquired and began operating at Incheon Airport in June 2010 – grew by 24% overall to reach W.2.15bn ($1.9bn) in 2010. 

Combined sales at Lotte’s flagship Seoul downtown duty free shop, Lotte World and the relatively new CO-EX shop accounted for slightly over half this total.