Lotte Duty Free has changed the name of its ‘LDF House’ downtown shopping store in Seoul to ‘Now in Myeong-dong’.

LDF House, which opened in October and is reportedly South Korea’s first duty free showroom, was conceived as an international space to revitalise the attractiveness of the famed commercial district.

The store combines English and Chinese characters in multi-lingual typography reflecting the signage visible on the streets of Myeongdong.

South Korea’s travel retail giant is offering a variety of merchandise such as shopping bags, iPhone cases, Griptok (Korean phone grip holders) and stickers on the third floor of Now in Myeong-dong.

Lotte Duty Free employees are actively marketing and advertising the store’s services by appearing as models, taking photos and promoting them via social media platforms including the Now in Myeong-dong Instagram account.

Twinning with the rebranding, Lotte Duty Free has opened a Belly Gom pop-up store at Now in Myeong-dong running from 2 April – 31 May.

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Located on the first and second floors of Now in Myeong-dong, the Belly Gom pop-up features a photo zone and a number of products, while a Belly Gom character placed on a hot air balloon-shaped lift can be ridden by customers on the rooftop.

The giant pink Belly Gom bear remains a popular creation among the MZ Generation (the pairing of millennials and Generation Z).

Accompanying this are several promotions and events at Now in Myeong-dong, including an event to award prizes including a Now in Myeong-dong X Belly Bear collaboration with LDF Pay.

Belly Gom balloons will be presented to customers spending more than KRW30,000/$20 on Belly Gom products.

Nam Gung-pyo, head of the new growth business division at Lotte Duty Free, said: “The ultimate goal is to make Now In Myeong-dong, which has been rebranded this time, a tourist landmark in Myeong-dong.

“Lotte Duty Free will continue to select various marketing strategies that can improve the travel experience of multinational tourists in Korea.”

Elsewhere, Lotte Duty Free is building on its expansion efforts by investing in new business growth divisions.

As reported, Lotte Duty Free participated in fashion trade show Coterie New York in February and signed around 50 K-fashion export contracts, netting more than $200,000 in local consultations.

The company is also in the process of upgrading its direct purchase mall ‘Ginza Japan Direct Purchase’ and overseas shipping functions to benefit foreigners living overseas.