"Baseball is Competitive, but"… Lotte Hi-Mart Hosts LG Victory Celebration Event

The Only Electronics Retailer Proceeding
"LG is an Important Partner for HiMart"

Lotte Hi-Mart held discount events to celebrate the LG Twins, LG Group's professional baseball team, winning the Korean Series.
[Photo by Lotte Hi-Mart]

Lotte Hi-Mart is holding an event to celebrate the LG Group's professional baseball team LG Twins' championship. Among electronics retailers, Lotte Hi-Mart is the only one running an event commemorating the LG Twins' victory. Since this is a sales marketing campaign prominently featuring the championship of the rival team of the group’s professional baseball team Lotte Giants, it is considered unusual within the industry.

According to industry sources on the 21st, Lotte Hi-Mart is conducting a prize event until the 30th of this month, where 50 consumers who purchase LG Electronics products worth more than 10 million KRW at over 350 offline stores nationwide will be entered into a draw to receive an LG Twins glossy jumper. Prior to this, until the day before, Lotte Hi-Mart also offered discounts on electronic products such as LG Electronics TVs, refrigerators, kimchi refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and PCs. The discount rate was significant, reaching up to half price when using affiliated company credit cards.

On the other hand, Electronics Land, considered one of the 'Big 2' domestic electronics retailers along with Lotte Hi-Mart, decided not to hold any discount or related events for the LG Twins' championship. Electromart, Shinsegae E-Mart’s electronics specialty store, only held the group-wide shopping event 'SSG Day' and did not have any LG Twins championship commemorative events. An industry insider said, "Lotte Hi-Mart did not conduct the discount event based on official promotions from LG Electronics," adding, "They used the LG Twins' championship as a pretext for marketing, but other retailers judged it unnecessary and did not participate."

It is common in the distribution industry to hold discount events under the pretext of a sports team’s championship. Most of these events are led by the parent companies of the winning teams, with a recent example being the Shinsegae Group. Last year, when the group’s professional baseball team SSG Landers won the integrated championship, 19 affiliates including department stores and E-Mart held discount events. However, the case of Lotte Hi-Mart is considered unusual because it is a company not affiliated with the winning team conducting its own commemorative event. The fact that the LG Twins are a rival team to the Lotte Giants also adds to the curiosity.

However, a Lotte Hi-Mart official drew a clear line, stating, "Although the baseball teams are competitors, LG is an important partner for Hi-Mart." In fact, Lotte Hi-Mart sources most of the electronic products sold in its online and offline stores from LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics. The official said, "Please see this as a meaningful event to celebrate the happy occasion of a partner company."

Meanwhile, LG Electronics is celebrating its first Korean Series professional baseball championship in 29 years by offering a 29% discount on major home appliances in limited quantities at its online brand shop for one day starting at 10 a.m. on the same day. Until the 26th, LG Electronics is also running an event where 3,000 people who download the LG Twins Korean Series championship emblem image and post congratulatory messages with hashtags on social networking services (SNS) will be entered into a draw to receive coffee coupons and other prizes.