Lotte Mart's Major Transformation... 70% of the First Floor Area Filled with Wine

Renovated as 'ZetaFlex' at Jamsil Branch, Seoul on 23rd
Strengthening Offline Store Advantages
30% More Food Products
'Bottle Bunker' Largest Scale at 400 Pyeong
Living, H&B, and Pet Stores Also Available

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Lotte Mart is opening its flagship store ‘Zeta Flex,’ which has been prepared for a year. With the new vision of Lotte Mart, "We have everything you want," the store leverages the strengths of offline stores to present the largest food specialty store in Korea.

On the 20th, Lotte Mart announced that it will renew its Jamsil branch in Seoul into Zeta Flex and reopen it on the 23rd. The non-food sections, which are easily available from competitors and online, have been boldly removed, while fresh food and specialized stores have been greatly expanded.

On the 20th, products are displayed at the food section of Lotte Mart Zeta Plex in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

◆ The Largest Fresh Food Store in Korea = Zeta Flex boasts the largest scale among all Lotte Mart stores, with a total sales area of 14,214㎡ (about 4,300 pyeong). It maximizes the advantages of offline stores, allowing customers to compare and purchase various fresh foods in one place. It carries more than 30% more products than typical large marts, and the display length has been increased by about 30% compared to the average of existing stores.

The segmented fruit corner shows the direction of Zeta Flex. For bananas alone, a total of 12 varieties are offered according to taste, and tomatoes and strawberries are also stocked with 22 and 11 varieties respectively, allowing consumers to choose according to their preferences. The display method is also categorized by taste: the sweet corner includes bananas, melons, watermelons, and Korean melons; the citrus corner includes oranges, pineapples, and tomatoes; and the oily corner includes avocados and olives. Product descriptions have moved beyond just sweetness to be further detailed by four characteristics: sweetness, acidity, moisture, and hardness.

The largest salad zone in Korea is also introduced. It sells over 150 products, including vegetables grown using the ‘aquaponics’ method, where fish and crops are cultivated together. The seafood section features a panoramic aquarium and a stepped aquarium for visual appeal. The livestock section introduces a specialty lamb store. To realize the largest premium store in Korea, it sells Hoban Chikso, a native Korean beef breed accounting for 0.1%, and full-blood Wagyu, the top 0.5% of purebred Wagyu. The processed food corner differentiates itself with a global cheese zone, charcuterie specialty zone, vegan food zone, and Spanish food zone.

On the 20th, the wine specialty store 'Bottle Bunker' is located on the 1st floor of Lotte Mart Zeta Plex in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

◆ Introduction of Numerous Specialized Stores = Lotte Mart has introduced numerous specialized stores to attract consumers to offline stores. The wine specialty store ‘Bottle Bunker,’ occupying 70% of the entire first floor area, is introduced. This store is the largest in Korea at 1,322㎡ (about 400 pyeong) and plans to provide total wine services. It sells about 4,000 types of wine, ranging from Roman?e-Conti, known as the highest-priced wine costing around 100 million KRW with an annual production of only about 5,500 bottles, to cost-effective wines priced in the 10,000 KRW range. It also operates a ‘Tasting Tap’ where customers can sample about 80 types of wine. Here, customers charge money onto a dedicated bracelet, touch the bracelet to a machine, and taste 50ml servings of the wine they want to try.

The living specialty store ‘Room by Home Lab’ offers premium products through collaborations with private brands (PB), category-specific professional designers, artists, and specialized brands. It sells items rarely found in large marts, such as Polish goose down, temperature-regulating bedding, and high-end Italian brand lighting. Additionally, the health and beauty (H&B) store ‘Lob’s Plus,’ which has increased its share of anti-aging cosmetics and health functional foods, and the pet store ‘Collioli,’ targeting the 6 trillion KRW pet market, are also located within Zeta Flex.

Kang Sung-hyun, CEO of Lotte Mart, said, "Zeta Flex is a project that shows customers the future version of Lotte Mart," adding, "We hope it will establish itself as Lotte Mart’s representative store that proposes customers’ lifestyles by concentrating the company’s capabilities."