Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, proposed that the Korean and Japanese Lotte food companies collaborate to develop a global mega brand with annual sales of 1 trillion won, selecting Korea's 'Pepero' as the first product.
Chairman Shin recently visited global food production bases in Belgium and Poland with executives from the Korean and Japanese Lotte food subsidiaries to inspect the sites and discuss ways to secure global competitiveness through synergy between the two food companies.
Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte, visited global food production sites located in Belgium and Poland to oversee on-site management while also presiding over the "One Lotte Integration Strategy Meeting." During the meeting, Lotte Korea and Japan discussed plans to collaborate in fostering a global mega brand with sales of 1 trillion won. The photo shows Shin Dong-bin (second from the right) inspecting the Guylian production plant in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. Photo by Shin Dong-bin
According to Lotte Group on the 8th, Chairman Shin presided over the 'One Lotte Food Company Strategy Meeting' in Warsaw, Poland, on the 3rd.
The One Lotte Food Company Strategy Meeting is a consultative body where executives from Korean and Japanese Lotte food companies gather to seek practical cooperation measures.
At this meeting, they discussed plans to develop Pepero, the first cooperative strategic product of One Lotte, into a global mega brand with sales of 1 trillion won.
Last year, Korean Lotte Wellfood's Pepero recorded sales of 200 billion won domestically and internationally combined.
Under the goal of making Pepero a 'Global Top 10 and Asia No.1' brand by 2035, the Korean and Japanese Lotte companies pledged to actively cooperate.
Measures to achieve Pepero's 1 trillion won sales target include expanding markets in existing countries such as Vietnam and India, pioneering new countries with high potential, and supporting joint sourcing and marketing activities.
Chairman Shin said, "I ask that Korean and Japanese Lotte work closely together to become a company capable of sustainable growth in the global market," and urged, "Please demonstrate strong execution power in nurturing various mega brands with overseas sales exceeding 1 trillion won."
Korean and Japanese Lotte discussed joint overseas marketing, streamlining overseas distribution networks, and cross-support activities between the two countries related to new products to develop representative brand products including Pepero into mega brands.
They agreed to communicate with customers overseas centered on the 'Lotte product' brand rather than Korean or Japanese products.
They also plan to closely analyze the global competitiveness of the representative brands of both companies, streamline global distribution networks, and support a test bed role through mutual cooperation in Korea and Japan before launching new products.
In early this month, Chairman Shin visited Europe, touring the Gillian factory in Belgium and the Wedel factory in Poland.
Lotte Wellfood acquired Gillian, one of the world's top three chocolate brands, in 2008, and Japanese Lotte acquired the Polish confectionery company Wedel in 2010.
Chairman Shin also attended the opening ceremony of the 'Chocolate Factory Museum' opened by Lotte Wedel in Warsaw, Poland, on the 2nd.
The Chocolate Factory Museum has a total floor area of 8,738㎡ (1 basement floor, 8 above-ground floors) and includes an experience center, production facilities, and research and development (R&D) facilities.
On this business trip, executives from Korean and Japanese Lotte holding companies and food subsidiaries accompanied Chairman Shin, including Lee Young-gu, Head of Lotte Food Group, Lee Chang-yeop, CEO of Lotte Wellfood, Shin Yu-yeol, Head of Future Growth at Lotte Holdings, and Kenichi Tamatsuka, CEO of Lotte Holdings Japan.
Additionally, on the 5th, Chairman Shin met with Thomas Heatherwick, a world-renowned architect and designer, in London, UK, to discuss the latest architectural design trends and design strategies.
Both agreed that the connection between business vision and customer experience is important in design strategy and discussed future cooperation plans.
Thomas Heatherwick is famous for his creative architectural designs such as the Hudson Yards project in New York, the Azabudai Hills project in Tokyo, and Bay View, Google's first building constructed directly by the company.
Recently, Heatherwick's 'Soundscape' was selected as the final winning design for the 'Nodeul Global Art Island International Design Competition' hosted by Seoul City.
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