NEW Lotte Riding the Metaverse... The Design Is Complete

55th Anniversary New Business Acceleration
Hyper-Realistic Metaverse Life
Beta Service Possibly in Q2
Connecting Ground Tourism-Shopping-Aviation
UAM Project Test Flights This Year
70 Billion KRW Investment in Lotte Healthcare

The metaverse world of Lotte created by Lotte Data Communication Company and its subsidiary Caliberus.

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte.

"Investment must be made in the capabilities that will become important not today, but in tomorrow's world." (2022 New Year's Address)

"We must focus investments on creating new customers and markets through future-oriented management by reading the changes of the times." (2022 First Half VCM, Former Executive Meeting)

The direction of Lotte this year is revealed in the message consistently emphasized by Chairman Shin Dong-bin. Lotte, which will celebrate its 55th anniversary on the 3rd, is focusing its capabilities on promoting new businesses with keywords such as healthcare, metaverse, and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to become a 'New Lotte' with promising future growth.

◆"Lotte Must Set the Standard in the Virtual Converged World"

The metaverse is a new business area that Chairman Shin, an 'early adopter' with a high level of understanding and interest in advanced devices and future technologies, is very interested in. This year, major management meetings have also been held in the metaverse under Chairman Shin's leadership. Lotte Information & Communication, which leads Lotte's metaverse business, acquired Caliverse (formerly Vision VR) for 12 billion KRW in July last year to provide ultra-realistic content, aiming to lead the market as an 'ultra-realistic metaverse life platform.' They plan to develop a metaverse platform equipped with payment functions and launch a beta service as early as the second quarter of this year.

Lotte is also actively involved in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) business, which connects ground-based networks and aviation. In November last year, Lotte Holdings and Lotte Rental signed a business agreement with U.S. companies Skyworks Aeronautics, Mobius Energy, and Incheon City to enter the UAM business and are pushing for demonstration flights this year. Commercialization is targeted for 2024. Through this, Lotte plans to connect the group's ground transportation, tourism, shopping infrastructure, and air transportation. Lotte Rental is promoting the operation of a mobility platform that connects air and ground and is building related infrastructure such as vertiports (UAM takeoff and landing sites), charging stations, and terminals.

The bio and healthcare business is also being actively promoted under the leadership of Lotte Holdings' New Growth Teams 2 and 3. Lotte Holdings is investing 70 billion KRW to establish Lotte Healthcare Corporation and build a platform that can provide comprehensive solutions across all areas of health management, including scientific diagnosis and prescriptions. They plan to expand into the medical field in the future and enter the global market. Collaborating with the food business group, they are developing health functional foods and promoting silver town projects. They are also reviewing ways to create synergy with external capabilities in the bio business.

◆"Investment Must Be Made in Brand, Design, and IT"

Strengthening core business competitiveness is also being accelerated. Following last year's acquisition of Hanssem, Lotte continues aggressive investment moves this year with the acquisition of Korea Ministop and the purchase of shares in Socar. Since 2021, Lotte has made 12 acquisitions or equity investments exceeding 10 billion KRW each, with the total amount surpassing 1 trillion KRW. Lotte is also promoting the merger of Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Foods to enhance new business scalability and build a food portfolio covering all ages and life stages, from infant formula to silver food.

Design innovation encompassing the 'New Lotte' is also underway. In September last year, Lotte Holdings established the Design Management Center, led by Center Director Bae Sang-min, a former professor of industrial design at KAIST, who is collaborating closely. To strengthen design capabilities as a strategic asset that embodies 'heritage' rather than 'oldness,' he has recently been researching by visiting business units such as Lotte Confectionery. A Lotte official said, "We will establish a unified design philosophy that covers a wide range of business areas and communicate with customers."