Lotte vs Shinsegae Retail Rivalry
Big Smiles Thanks to Pro Baseball Boom
Improved Performance of Lotte Giants and SSG Landers
As professional baseball in Korea enters the era of 10 million spectators this year, the professional baseball teams operated by retail rivals Lotte and Shinsegae have also posted strong performances. This is due to the increase in fans visiting the stadiums and the popularity of specialized goods.
According to the distribution industry on the 20th, Lotte Giants, operated by Lotte Giants Co., Ltd., recorded significantly improved results in the third quarter of this year compared to last year.
According to Lotte Holdings, the sales of the 'other' segment including Lotte Giants in the third quarter reached 174.5 billion KRW, with an operating profit of 19 billion KRW. Compared to the same period last year, sales surged by 21.2% and operating profit skyrocketed by 1375.6%. Lotte Holdings explained that the increase in sales and operating profit in the 'other' segment was due to the strong performance of the Giants. Lotte Holdings holds a 98.1% stake in Lotte Giants. A Lotte Giants official explained, "Operating profit improved due to increased ticket sales and merchandise sales such as uniforms, driven by the rise in spectator numbers."
Shinsegae Group's SSG Landers also benefited greatly from the popularity of professional baseball. The cumulative sales and operating profit of Shinsegae Baseball Team, which operates SSG Landers, in the third quarter of this year were 112.3 billion KRW and 8.5 billion KRW, respectively. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 15.1%, and operating profit turned positive. In January 2021, Shinsegae Group acquired 100% of the shares of SK Wyverns, previously held by SK Telecom, for about 135.3 billion KRW through E-Mart. After the acquisition, the team’s name was changed to SSG Landers.
This strong performance appears to be influenced by professional baseball attracting the highest number of spectators ever. According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the cumulative attendance of the 10 professional baseball teams this year was approximately 10.89 million. This is the first time in the 42 years since the launch of Korean professional baseball that attendance has exceeded 10 million. The previous record was 8.4 million in 2017.
The two retail rival teams also achieved strong results in attracting spectators. During this year’s regular season, Lotte and SSG drew 1.23 million and 1.14 million spectators, respectively, surpassing the 1 million mark. Compared to last year, Lotte’s attendance increased by 38.3%, and SSG’s by 7%. When ranking the attendance of the 10 professional baseball teams, Lotte ranked 5th and SSG 6th. The top attendance rankings were held by KIA Tigers and Samsung Lions, who performed well this season, as well as the 'Jamsil rivals' Doosan Bears and LG Twins.
In addition to the increase in spectators, the sales of cheering goods such as uniforms sold by each team also formed the foundation for strong performance. Both Lotte and SSG released collaboration products using popular character intellectual properties (IP) this season, which gained popularity. Lotte collaborated with the famous Japanese animation character 'Crayon Shin-chan' to release cheering goods such as uniforms, keyrings, and badges, which attracted attention. Among these, the limited-edition uniforms sold out rapidly and are still being traded on secondhand platforms at a premium. SSG also experienced sell-out phenomena early on with uniforms released in collaboration with LINE Friends.
Meanwhile, as professional baseball gained popularity, the fashion industry also enjoyed a ripple effect. From July last year to June this year, Hyungji Elite’s sales in the sports commercialization business reached 21.1 billion KRW, a 113% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Operating profit related to sports products during the same period also surged by 136% to 2.6 billion KRW. Earlier this year, Hyungji Elite launched the sports brand 'Will Be Play' and signed a main sponsorship contract with Lotte. Accordingly, Will Be Play supplies Lotte’s official game uniforms and equipment. Additionally, Hyungji Elite has released baseball goods in collaboration with SSG and Hanwha Eagles.
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