[Distribution Hot People] Through the Eyes of Generation Z... Lotte ON Becomes the Holy Land of 'Family Sale'

Let's Expand the 'Men, Women, Children' Category
Actively Targeting Brand Partnerships
Beanpole Family Week Achieves 10x Sales Compared to Previous Events in Just One Week

Yuchae Eun, Men's Clothing Product Planner (CM) at Lotte ON Fashion Team.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Last year, Lotte On's men's fashion sector delivered results that exceeded expectations. It achieved sales 330% higher than the aggressively set targets at the beginning of the year, more than doubling compared to the previous year. A decisive factor behind this was the soaring performance of branded fashion within the open market's men's fashion category, especially the record-breaking sales of 'Family Sale (Family Week)' events for brands like Beanpole and Hazzys.

The proposal to make Lotte On the "holy ground of Family Sales" came from none other than Yu Chae-eun, a 1995-born Gen Z member and a men's apparel merchandiser (CM) in Lotte On's fashion team. Now in her fourth year at the company, she saw an opportunity when children's clothing was incorporated into the fashion category alongside men's and women's apparel at Lotte On's launch. She thought of introducing the Family Sale concept within Lotte On to expand the market. Until then, Family Sales were often held quietly on each brand's own online mall. Yu CM said, "We first established strategic business partnerships (JBP) with brands and prepared inventory through pre-planning up to six months in advance, creating exclusive planned products and attractive discounts. Reaching out proactively to brands led directly to these results."

The breakthrough came in September last year with the first Family Week event, the 'Beanpole Family Week,' which generated more than ten times the sales of previous events within just one week, marking the highest sales ever for a Family Sale. Yu CM recalled, "Both the brand headquarters and we, who tried this event for the first time, were surprised. We attribute this to securing inventory through prior work, competitive planned products and discount rates, events like 'attendance check,' and extensive promotions. Building on this, the second Family Week in November with LF achieved 13 times the sales compared to before."

Exclusive special-priced items such as Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirts and Polo short-sleeve T-shirts sold out every time, and some brands' signature cardigan new products were completely sold out during Lotte On events, prompting reorders. As a result, last year Lotte On topped the online mall sales rankings for brands like Beanpole and Lacoste. This momentum continues into the first half of this year. The ongoing Beanpole Family Week, running until the 27th, reached 40% of its sales target within just two days. The LF Family Week planned for the end of next month is also highly anticipated.

Yu CM credits the success to a "thorough customer-centric approach." She explained, "At first, I looked for what seemed pretty to my eyes, but now I analyze data to identify what target customers want to buy and focus on that." She added, "Men's fashion customers often search using product numbers, which are very specific, so I anticipated the competition would be about who secures popular design inventory first. We found sellers holding those products and onboarded them, increasing the stock of those items, which proved effective." As of this month, the number of men's fashion sellers on Lotte On has increased by 50% compared to the same period last year. Recently, global brands have also proactively proposed joining the platform. Yu CM said, "Ultimately, our goal is to create a platform that 'every seller wants to join' with our own hands."