Hiring continues despite the COVID cold wind... News of open recruitment in the distribution industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Retail companies such as Lotte and Shinsegae Group are launching recruitment for new employees. Although the retail industry was hit hard by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), they plan to rebound by hiring new talent.

According to the retail industry on the 1st, Lotte is recruiting talent to lead the group's digital transformation (DT). Four companies?Lotte Information & Communication, Lotte Homeshopping, Lotte GRS, and Lotte Chilsung Beverage?are participating in the DT division's new employee recruitment.

The recruitment fields focus on essential roles for executing the company's digital transformation strategy, including DT, AI engineering, IT, and UX. Lotte Chilsung Beverage will accept applications from October 5 to 23, while the other three companies will accept applications until the 16th. Final candidates will be selected through online personality tests and interviews.

Considering the spread of COVID-19, each affiliate will conduct the selection process separately and operate thorough infection prevention procedures. Additionally, related HR and job managers will hold an online "Job Cafe" to counsel job seekers regarding this recruitment.

Shinsegae Group is conducting open recruitment for college graduate new employees across 11 affiliates, including Shinsegae (department store), SSG.com, Shinsegae International, Shinsegae Food, Starbucks Korea, and Shinsegae Property. Recruitment will focus on affiliates considered growth engines, such as SSG.com and Shinsegae Property. Applications will be accepted online through the Shinsegae Group recruitment page until the 12th.

However, some affiliates such as E-Mart, E-Mart 24, Shinsegae Duty Free, and Shinsegae TV Shopping will not participate in this open recruitment. This is the first time in 27 years since its founding that E-Mart is not recruiting college graduate new employees. Shinsegae Group explained that since irregular recruitment has become the trend, they will supplement manpower as needed.

Hyundai Department Store Group postponed its open recruitment schedule to mid-next month but decided to maintain the recruitment scale at the usual level. Recruitment will be conducted using both non-face-to-face and face-to-face methods depending on the affiliate, such as department stores, home shopping, and duty-free shops.

BGF Group expanded its recruitment scale across the entire group in the second half of this year. Affiliates including BGF Retail, BGF Logis, BGF Ecobio, and Hello Nature plan to hire about 100 people in total. In addition to open recruitment, they increased this year's recruitment scale to about twice that of last year by combining internships and irregular recruitment for experienced positions.