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Lotte steps up SME support with early payments and global trade expos

Published: 28 Feb. 2025, 07:20

Lotte hosted the Love Family Accompanying Concert, inviting 1,300 employees to promote harmony and cooperation between labor and management, in November 2024. [LOTTE CORPORATION]

Lotte Corporation made an early payment of 686.3 billion won ($475.8 million) to 11,000 small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) partners in January, an average of nine days ahead of schedule.

The initiative helps partners manage finances before the Lunar New Year holiday, a period of increased expenses. Twenty-six Lotte affiliates, including Lotte Department Store, Lotte Hotel, Lotte Wellfood and Lotte Global Logistics, participated to ease financial strain on smaller partners amid high inflation and interest rates.

Since 2013, Lotte has provided early payments before major holidays to support shared growth between large and small businesses. The company has also established a 1 trillion won shared growth fund and a dedicated payment system across all affiliates, becoming the first major corporation to ensure cash-equivalent payments for transactions.

Last November, Lotte hosted the Love Family Accompanying Concert at Lotte Concert Hall in Jamsil, Seoul, inviting 1,300 employees to foster cooperation between labor and management. Under the theme “Harmony of Challenge and Hope,” pianist and composer Jung Jae-hyung hosted the event, with classical performances by the Ditto Orchestra and vocalists Ali and Kim Feel. The concert ended with a message of unity and hope.

In October, Lotte organized the 2024 Super Blue Marathon at Peace Park in Mapo District, western Seoul, to promote disability awareness. Since its launch in 2015, the event has drawn around 8,000 participants annually, including Lotte employees, disabled individuals and their families. It features Braille-inscribed medals and a walking course for accessibility.

Furthermore, Lotte hosted the 2024 With Lotte at Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi in Vietnam last August. The event served as a special opening ceremony for the domestic festival, but was being held overseas for the first time. The event included the Lotte-Korea Brand Expo, where eight Lotte affiliates, including Lotte Holdings, Lotte Mart and Lotte Home Shopping, helped domestic SMEs explore overseas markets. Vietnam, where 19 Lotte affiliates operate, remains a key market for Korean SMEs. In July, Lotte Shopping, Lotte Global Logistics and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups signed an agreement to support small businesses expanding globally.

An export consultation meeting at Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi connected 80 Korean SMEs with Vietnamese distribution buyers, alongside a promotional sale at Lotte Mart that drew significant attention.

In June, Lotte hosted the Lotte-Korea Brand Expo in Mexico City. First launched in Thailand in 2018, the expo has facilitated 12 rounds of overseas expansion opportunities for SMEs. By 2023, approximately 1,300 companies had participated, conducting 9,000 consultations with total deals reaching 960 billion won.

Mexico, Korea’s first strategic partner in Latin America since 2005, has a growing demand for Korean brands. With over 27 million Korean Wave fan club members — second worldwide — the country presents significant market potential. Its 120-million population, the 10th largest in the world, half of whom are aged 15-49 with high purchasing power, makes it a prime target for expansion.

Following this trend, 100 SMEs from beauty, fashion, food and household goods sectors joined the expo, with 47 companies — offering products like face masks, cleansers, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and seaweed snacks — holding direct export consultations with local distributors.

BY LEE YEBIN [[email protected]]

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