[Sponsored Report] Lotte Mart opens its 44th store in Indonesia

Lotte Mart opened its 44th Indonesian store in the Pakuwon Mall in Surabaya, East Java. The store attracted huge crowds on its opening day. [LOTTE MART]

Lotte Mart opened its 44th store in Indonesia on Nov. 10. The new location is situated in the first basement level of the Pakuwon Mall in Surabaya, the capital of East Java Province, and covers 5,740 square meters (61,785 square feet).

The Pakuwon Mall location is the 15th hypermarket that Lotte has launched in Indonesia. Lotte Mart now owns 44 stores in the country, including 27 wholesale stores and two supermarkets.

Surabaya is the country’s second-largest city and main trading port in the eastern coast. It has a dense and rising population of middle-income households.

Expectations for sales are high at the new Pakuwon Mall store, as 180,000 residents live within a 2-mile radius of the location and only one competitor exists in the area.

To stay ahead of the competition, the Pakuwon Mall branch has included specialty shops such as “L-Beauty” for health and beauty products, “Mom & Me” for baby and children’s goods and “Food Station,” which offers a variety of ready-to-eat meals.

The store has adopted the membership program L.Point, which allows customers to accumulate points while shopping at Lotte affiliates and convert the points into cash. Other customer loyalty programs such as coupon books and freebies are in the works as well.

“The purchasing power of Indonesian shoppers is increasing,” said Yoon Ju-kyung, director of Lotte Mart Indonesia. “We will continue our efforts to win over local customers by offering convenient, differentiated products and services.”

Lotte Mart also carries out various social contribution activities in Indonesia, including scholarship programs, in an effort to become the most favored company in Indonesia that also grows together with local businesses.

BY YANG SE-YOUNG [yang.seyoung@joongang.co.kr]