Lotte Department Store Hosts 'WDSS 2025' on June 11-12
Retail Channels, Beauty, Fashion, and Food... Gathering of CEOs from Korea and Abroad
Joonho Jung, CEO of Lotte Department Store: "We Must Increase Investment in VIP and Young Customers"
Seunghwan Kim, CEO of Amorepacific: "Product Innovation and Premiumization Strategies Are Essential"
Jungwoo Hong, CEO of Hago House: "Brands Must Be Built Together with Customers"
Joonho Jung, CEO of Lotte Department Store, praised "The Hyundai Seoul," a competitor operated by Hyundai Department Store, as a "revolution in retail."
On June 12, at the 16th Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS) World Department Store Summit (WDSS) held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, Jung took the stage as the first speaker for the session "The New Evolution of the K-Wave." After presenting on future strategies for K-department stores, he spoke with reporters and cited The Hyundai Seoul as an example of the evolution of department stores, making these remarks.
He stated, "Traditionally, department stores have tried to maximize the space on the first and second floors, but The Hyundai Seoul opened up the first floor to feel more like a shopping mall and created open spaces even on the sixth floor." He emphasized, "The upcoming renovation of the Jamsil branch will be an upgraded version of the revolution that The Hyundai Seoul has created."
In his earlier presentation, Jung outlined several strategies to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic department stores: expanding investment in major cities including Seoul; broadening product categories such as luxury, beauty, food, children's goods, sports, and electronics; enhancing customer experience to secure loyal customers; and promoting digital transformation across all business operations. He particularly stressed that hosting events is crucial to attract new, younger customers with purchasing power to department stores.
He said, "Pop-up stores are a casual and comfortable way to attract younger customers," and evaluated, "Through 340 pop-up events held last year, the number of customers at Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch increased by 28% year-on-year, and the proportion of customers in their 20s and 30s rose to 41%."
He also emphasized the need to strengthen personalized services for VIP customers. Jung explained, "Over the past five years, the top 5% of customers at Lotte Department Store have accounted for 62% of total sales," adding, "We are currently communicating with VIP customers via our application, providing all services and communities in a personalized manner, and offering membership-based benefits."
Joonho Jung, CEO of Lotte Department Store, is speaking at the 'WDSS 2025' held on the 12th at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. [Photo by Lotte Department Store]
As the second speaker, Seunghwan Kim, CEO of Amorepacific, identified the "ecosystem connecting brands, products, distribution channels, and consumers" as the reason why Korea has become the third-largest cosmetics exporter after France and the United States. He said, "More than 3,000 cosmetics manufacturers, a variety of e-commerce platforms such as Olive Young, and the high digital affinity of Korean consumers are all organically connected," emphasizing, "K-beauty is not a temporary fad, but a sustainable trend."
He went on to say that for K-beauty to continue its growth, it must continually innovate products, expand into new categories, and make the leap to more premium brands. Kim explained, "We must continue to innovate in product ingredients, new functions, and applications, and expand brand categories that are currently focused on skincare into areas like makeup and inner beauty." He added, "K-beauty is known for its cost-effective products with good quality at reasonable prices, but going forward, it is important to strengthen our presence in the premium market."
Kim noted, "Sulwhasoo's booster serum, a flagship brand based on traditional Korean ingredients, is so popular that one is sold every 10 seconds, and Hera's Black Cushion has ranked number one in its category for eight consecutive years." He explained, "We are expanding the presence of premium brands not only in Korea but also in department stores around the world, including New York, Paris, Hong Kong, and Bangkok."
Kim stated, "K-beauty is now at the center of the global beauty industry. Although there are still challenges to address, as a pioneer of K-beauty, we will lead a new era and open the future with innovative products, diversity, and personalized experiences."
Jungwoo Hong, CEO of Hago House, shared strategies for customer-driven brand growth. Hago House is a platform that helps K-fashion brands, which have grown online, expand into offline markets. Currently, it collaborates with about 40 emerging brands, including Matinkim and Depound.
Hong explained, "In the past, brands set the direction and customers followed, but since 2010, the Gen Z generation has changed the traditional way brands grow. Now, brand identity is created through interaction."
In practice, Matinkim, Hago House's flagship brand, incorporates real-time customer feedback through social networking services (SNS) rather than showrooms or runways, and applies this feedback to product development. Matinkim achieved annual sales of $110 million last year and is expected to surpass $148 million in sales this year. Hong explained, "Building brand identity together with customers is the core competitive edge of K-fashion."
Meanwhile, the World Department Store Summit is the largest industry forum where top executives from major department stores around the world gather annually to discuss future strategies. The IGDS, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, has 44 member companies from 38 countries, with the principle of one member per country.
At the "WDSS 2025" event, held in Korea for the first time, a record 300 participants attended, showing keen interest in future management and retail innovation. Under the theme "The Best Ways to Captivate Customers," the two-day event from June 11 featured speakers and panelists including Adil Mehboob-Khan, CEO of Liberty Department Store in the UK; Fanya Chandler, CEO of Nordstrom in the US; Yugo Hiramatsu, Executive Director of Shibuya Parco in Japan; and Alberto Tripodi, Chief Retail Officer of Moncler. Domestically, speakers included Jung, Seunghwan Kim, CEO of Amorepacific, Jungwoo Hong, CEO of Hago House, and Junbeom Lee, CEO of GFFG, who gave lectures on K-beauty, K-fashion, and K-food.
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