Lotte Duty Free Wins Alcohol and Tobacco Sales Rights at Gimpo Airport

Secured DF2 Project Rights Following DF1 Zone
"Highly Rated for Alcohol and Tobacco Sourcing Capabilities"

Lotte Duty Free has been selected as the liquor and tobacco sales operator at the Gimpo International Airport departure hall.

As the value of the Japanese yen has fallen to an all-time low, the number of tourists visiting Japan is increasing. On the 16th, travelers at Seoul Gimpo International Airport were waiting to check their luggage. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the duty-free industry on the 6th, the Korea Customs Service held a license review committee meeting in the afternoon and selected Lotte Duty Free as the licensee for the DF2 zone located on the 3rd floor of the international terminal. The final announcement was made in the order of Shilla Duty Free and Lotte Duty Free. It is reported that Lotte Duty Free received high scores by emphasizing its strong sourcing capabilities for liquor and tobacco, as it has the largest number of global stores among domestic duty-free operators.

Accordingly, Lotte Duty Free will continue operations in both duty-free zones (DF1, DF2) at Gimpo Airport departure hall. Since 2022, Lotte Duty Free has been selling perfumes and cosmetics in the DF1 zone under a (5 years + 5 years) contract. The operating rights for the DF2 zone are valid until 2031, totaling 7 years. The current operator, Shilla Duty Free, will operate until the end of this month. A Lotte Duty Free official stated, "We will do our best to provide differentiated services by expanding customer benefits through operating all product categories at Gimpo Airport."

It is analyzed that Lotte Duty Free has alleviated concerns about sales decline by securing all duty-free business rights at Gimpo Airport. The company withdrew from Incheon Airport Duty Free in July last year and has continued operations mainly through downtown and online duty-free stores in Korea. In particular, the liquor and tobacco business at Gimpo Airport is considered a prime location with a sales-linked structure, expected to contribute to performance improvement. The rent calculation method for this business site is basic rent (300 million KRW) + operating rate (sales-linked), so if sales decrease in a given year, the rent paid will be less than the previous year. Since the rent is not fixed, there is no burden of paying a fixed rent. The annual sales of the DF2 zone are estimated at 41.9 billion KRW. Furthermore, with the recent increase in travelers visiting Gimpo Airport to go to Japan, sales are expected to rise further for the time being.