Lotte Duty Free to open 1st overseas store

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's top duty free shop chain, said Monday that it will open its first overseas store in Indonesia this year in an effort to expand its overseas presence. Lotte Duty Free said in a statement that it has signed a deal with Indonesia's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to set up a duty free shop at the airport during the second half of the year. The Indonesia's main gateway, located on the outskirts of its capital of Jakarta, handles more than 10 million international passengers every year. "The launch of its first overseas market will further cement its status as Asia's biggest duty free shop and pave the way for it to become one of the top three duty free shops in the world by 2018," the company said. Starting with the Indonesian shop, Lotte Duty Free will open more overseas markets in Asia and raise overseas sales to 40 percent of its total sales by 2018, it said. Lotte Duty Free, run by Hotel Lotte Co, ranked sixth in the world with sales of 2.15 trillion won (US$2 billion) in 2010. Lotte Duty Free operates 10 shops in South Korea, including one at Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway. Its product lineup includes luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Ferragamo and Prada.