Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi cited as a Lotte success story

Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi, a premium commercial complex, has emerged as a hot spot in Vietnam, hitting the 100 billion won ($74 million) milestone in sales in the first four months since its launch, the South Korean retail group said on Monday.

The milestone was achieved within the shortest period ever among shopping malls in Vietnam. It has lured millennials and Gen Z with high-end brands and K-pop-themed marketing in a city with few large-scale premium shopping malls and entertainment places.

At the group’s executive meeting last week, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin praised the achievement as a success story in its overseas expansion.

Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi opened in September 2023 with a floor area of 354,000 square meters.

The complex encompasses a wide range of facilities, including a shopping mall, a supermarket, a hotel, an aquarium and a cinema.

The cumulative number of its visitors has surpassed 5 million. Considering Hanoi’s 8.4 million population, two out of three residents in the city have visited the place.

It accommodates 233 brands, about 40% of which are new to Vietnam. Some global sportswear companies and US cosmetics brand Lush opened their first offline stores in the Southeast Asian country within the shopping center.

Lush is one of the biggest contributors to Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi’s sales growth.

The inclusion of high-end brands sets it apart from homegrown shopping centers such as Aeon and Vincom, which target the mass market with low-to-mid-priced brands and supermarkets.

Lotte Group is seeking to expand into other Southeast Asian countries and Vietnam is expected to serve as a stepping stone.

Currently, Lotte runs four shopping malls in Southeast Asia: one in Indonesia and three in Vietnam.

It is considering opening one to two more premium shopping malls in Vietnam.

"We aimed to make Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi the best shopping mall in Asia from the planning stage," said Kim Joon Young, head of Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi and Lotte Department Store’s overseas business.

"We will make it our global business platform," he added.

Write to Sun A Lee at suna@hankyung.com
 


Yeonhee Kim edited this article.