"Lotte Home Shopping Signs Business Agreement with Seoul Design Foundation as 'Bellygom' Goods Flood In"

Purpose of Discovering Excellent Design Companies Utilizing Bellygom IP and Expanding Market Channels

(From the left) Lee Kyung-don, CEO of Seoul Design Foundation, and Kim Jae-gyeom, CEO of Lotte Homeshopping, are taking a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement.

On the 1st, Lotte Homeshopping announced on the 2nd that it signed a business agreement with the Seoul Design Foundation at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung-gu, Seoul, to foster the design industry utilizing the intellectual property (IP) of the popular character Bellygom.

The two companies agreed to mutually cooperate on ▲joint planning and promotion of design projects ▲support for new product development and market expansion for design companies. According to the agreement, a popup store called ‘DDPX Bellygom’ will be operated at the DDP Design Store in May, showcasing Bellygom goods created by emerging designers and design products developed by small and medium-sized enterprises and startups.

At DDPX Bellygom, new products developed by design companies using the Bellygom IP, as well as popular Bellygom items that caused sell-out frenzies, will be exhibited. The developed products will be listed and supported for sales and promotion at the DDP Design Store, and products selected as excellent designs will be officially sold through Bellygom’s own online mall and popup stores. Additionally, a large Bellygom sculpture will be displayed at the outdoor plaza of DDP, and a ‘surprise camera’ event featuring a sudden appearance of Bellygom is planned.

Bellygom established itself as a representative Korean character by winning the ‘Presidential Award’ at the ‘2022 Korea Content Awards’ last year. Last month, to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, Bellygom transformed into a rabbit and opened the ‘Belly Rabbit’s Carrot Farm’ popup store, where new goods such as season greeting sets and stress balls sold about 5,000 units, receiving great response. So far, Bellygom goods have sold approximately 150,000 units and over 2 billion KRW through popup stores and its own online mall.

Lee Bo-hyun, Head of Content Division at Lotte Homeshopping, said, “We signed a business agreement with the Seoul Design Foundation to develop new products and open sales channels for design companies by utilizing the popular character Bellygom IP. We hope that various Bellygom goods based on the fresh ideas of emerging designers will be developed, and we expect Bellygom to contribute even a little to fostering the design industry.”