Premium and Eco-Friendly Focus... Lotte Department Store Launches Seol Gift Main Sale

Increasing Hanwoo Grade and Cheong Fruit Sweetness
Wines Curated by Professional Sommeliers

Models are promoting the 2023 Lunar New Year gift sets at the Lotte Department Store main branch. (Photo by Lotte Department Store)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Lotte Department Store announced on the 1st that it will start the main sales of Lunar New Year gift sets at all stores from the 2nd.

The premium holiday gift set, Hanwoo beef set, saw sales at Lotte Department Store during last year's Chuseok increase by more than 20% compared to the previous year’s Chuseok, and sales of Hanwoo gift sets priced over 1 million KRW doubled during the same period. For this Lunar New Year, Lotte Department Store has strengthened premium products in key gift categories.

They enhanced the quality of gifts by raising the grade of Hanwoo beef and the sweetness of fruits, and expanding the introduction of certified seafood. Considering that 1+ grade or higher accounted for 70% of all Hanwoo gift sets sold last year, an increase of about 30 percentage points compared to before COVID-19 (2019), this year they increased the number of premium Hanwoo gift set items of 1+ grade or higher by more than 40%. Representative products include the Prestige Number Nine (No.9) Special Gift (1.5 million KRW), Designated Farm Premium Mixed Gift (850,000 KRW), Royal Hanwoo Steak Gift (580,000 KRW), and Special Hanwoo Roast Mixed Gift (400,000 KRW).

The fruit gift sets have increased the average sweetness of the fruits by about 10% compared to before. The seafood gift sets have secured a variety of certified gift sets to enhance trust in the products.

Wines are curated directly by Lotte Department Store’s professional sommeliers and presented at the highest industry level. Sommeliers Kyung Min-seok, Choi Jun-seon, and Han Hee-soo have prepared recommended wines themed 'Cellar Selection' and 'Daily Selection' for this Lunar New Year. The Cellar Selection features wines with excellent aging value suitable as premium gifts, including Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino (300,000 KRW), Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella (290,000 KRW), and Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay (290,000 KRW).

For wines that guarantee quality beyond their price and can be gifted without burden, they recommend Lodi Identified, Ernest Rapeneau Champagne Brut, and Domaine Brana Ari Gorri Irulegi.

Eco-friendly content has also been strengthened. Lotte Department Store is introducing the industry's first low-carbon Hanwoo gift set, which emits 65% less carbon than regular Hanwoo. As an eco-friendly product, it is sold in a cooler bag made from recycled materials. Eco-friendly packaging gift sets that use paper pulp instead of plastic or minimize the use of auxiliary materials can be found not only in fruit and seafood but also in nut gift sets.

At 10 a.m. on weekdays, Lotte Department Store Mall will unveil special price products, and a promotion is underway where customers purchasing Lotte Department Store gift sets through the Lotte ON application can earn up to 700,000 L.POINT points.