S.Korea's Lotte Group helps SMEs penetrate Indonesian market

South Korea's Lotte Group through Friday is holding the event Korea Expo in Jakarta in the Indonesian capital with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). 

Stressing joint growth, the event assists small and medium enterprises (SME) struggling to secure overseas sales channels based on Lotte’s distribution know-how.

Lotte Corp. and the conglomerate's six distribution affiliates -- Lotte Home Shopping, Lotte Department Store, Lotte Mart, Lotte Duty Free, Lotte Hi-Mart and Korea Seven – are taking part in this event. KOTRA, which has collaborated with Lotte since 2017, supervises the recruitment of buyers in Indonesia.

Business-to-business export and import consultations on Tuesday were held at the Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City Hotel, with the one on exports attracting about 50 domestic SMEs from South Korea and 100 Indonesian distribution companies.

Merchandisers from the six Lotte affiliates held an import consultation to help 100 Indonesian SMEs advance into South Korea.

A business-to-consumer promotional event will run through Friday at Lotte Shopping Avenue located at the mall Kuningan City in Jakarta. It features demonstrations of popular products ranging from foods like traditional snacks, beauty accessories including serums and cream, and daily necessities as well as exhibition showcases.

"Indonesia is an important economic cooperation partner as the only Southeast Asian country to have G20 membership and marks its 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Korea this year," said Jung Oe-young, head of KOTRA's Innovative Growth Headquarters. "To expand access to the Southeast Asian market centered on Indonesia, we plan a range of business types including support for entry into the distribution network."

Launched in 2016, the Korea Brand Expo marks its 17th anniversary this year. The previous edition had a cumulative 8,513 consultations worth 1.3 trillion won ($973.3 million) in export deals.

Lotte in recent years has ramped up its activity in Indonesia. In 2008, Lotte Mart became the first South Korean distribution company to enter the market and in 2013, Lotte Department Store opened a shopping complex mall in Jakarta.

Write to Hun-Hyoung Ha at hhh@hankyung.com