Lotte Mart, a discount chain under South Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group, has rolled up its sleeves to offer consumers new shopping experiences in a bid to overcome sluggish growth in the country’s retail industry.

An unnamed official from Lotte Mart said on Wednesday that starting next year, the retailer will introduce special shop mangers, so-called shop masters who will be able to consult customers, as well as provide lifestyle tips and product ideas based on customers’ different needs.

As part of such an initiative, Lotte Mart plans to cultivate not only merchandizing specialists but also other experts who will be able to propose new lifestyle trends to consumers. Kim Jong-in, chief executive of Lotte Mart, is said to have ordered all employees to practically become product merchandizers and experts on certain lifestyle trends such as interior design items and kitchen accessories.

From next year, the retailer plans to offer product planning training to all employees once every month and create a new position dubbed as a shop master in charge of a specialized in-store shop at Lotte Mart.

Lotte Mart’s move to offer consumers new lifestyle trends comes after it has seen a significant growth in sales of its specially-categorized stores while overall sales at large discount stores have remained stagnant. Currently, the retailer manages 16 specialized in-store shops each based on a different theme including Toys R Us.

Sales of its personalized apparel store TE, for example, jumped 57.6 percent in the January-November period of this year from the same period of last year, while that of It.Street that sells fashion accessories including handbags, shoes and belts soared 57 percent. Sales of Room X Home, a specialized store selling interior design items, increased 20.8 percent during the same period.

Lotte Mart CEO Kim said that the retailer would only lose competitiveness and fall behind trend if it remains as a discount chain from the past. It should focus all capacity to transform into a retailer that provides new lifestyle trends and concepts to consumers, he added.

By Sohn Il-seon

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