Core Organization Product Headquarters Nesting at WeWork
MZ Generation Popular Furniture & Accessories + Free Atmosphere 'Hip Office'
Organizational Culture Change Reflected in Department Store Renewal
Bold Space Investment + Premium Brands & Experiential Content
'Trendy Lotte' Investing 4.7 Trillion Won in Department Stores Over 5 Years
Seoul Samseong-dong Lotte Department Store Merchandise Headquarters Office (Photo by Lee Hyo-wan, Head of Lotte Department Store MD1 Headquarters SNS).
Jung Jun-ho, CEO of Lotte Department Store.
Lotte Department Store's Merchandising Headquarters has opened a new era in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Starting with the core department of the department store, the Merchandising Headquarters, the "major changes in workspaces and work methods" promised by CEO Jeong Junho are now in full swing.
According to the distribution industry on the 25th, Lotte Department Store's Merchandising Headquarters set up a new nest at WeWork in Samseong-dong starting the day before and began full-scale operations. CEO Jeong also commutes between Samseong-dong and Sogong-dong, working alongside employees. The office is decorated with a pop color scheme fitting for the department store's Merchandising Headquarters, combined with the free atmosphere typical of shared offices. Furniture and accessories popular among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), such as Fritz Hansen and Artemide, are arranged. Lee Hyowan, Executive Director and Head of Lotte Department Store Merchandising Headquarters (MD1), revealed the new office through social media (SNS), describing it as "the first day starting with a startup spirit." A Lotte Department Store official said, "The ability to choose between focused and open work atmospheres depending on the situation has earned high marks internally within the Merchandising Headquarters as a first impression."
This move is one of the follow-up measures after CEO Jeong, who became the new head of Lotte Department Store last November, declared that he would make employees feel proud to say they work at Lotte Department Store. It also aligns with the organizational culture changes declared earlier this year, after completing the organizational setup focused on strengthening the three pillars of "Merchandising, Marketing, and Design," and announcing a transformation into a "trend-leading Lotte." CEO Jeong actively communicates with employees by sharing his daily life and messages through the intranet corner "#Juno What Are You Doing?" while fostering an atmosphere where open and informal conversations are possible.
Lotte Department Store is also reflecting these changes in the ongoing phased renewal of its main store. It boldly invests space in categories popular among "today's people" and focuses its capabilities on becoming a "trendy Lotte" by strengthening premium brands and experiential content. Representative examples include the "Golf Hall," which expanded its store area by more than 30% in June last year, and the "Men's Overseas Fashion Specialty Hall," which opened in July. After the renewal opening, about 30 men's luxury brands, including "Louis Vuitton Men," were gathered in one place, recording nearly double the growth rate last year. This month, the perfume store on the basement first floor doubled its area to target the 20s and 30s demographic.
In the endemic era (periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases), Lotte Department Store is also making large-scale investments. Of the total 37 trillion KRW investment by Lotte Group over five years, 8.1 trillion KRW is allocated to the distribution sector. Among this, the investment scale for department stores is 4.7 trillion KRW. For CEO Jeong's declared goal of becoming the "No. 1 store in Gangnam," 1.15 trillion KRW will be spent on renovating the Gangnam and Jamsil stores. An industry insider said, "A healthy organizational culture generates creative ideas, which in turn leads to a virtuous cycle that transforms brands, products, and services reaching the final consumers. Such changes will be a mid- to long-term competitive advantage."
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