Busan City · Lotte Department Store is struggling to rebuild its distribution name in Busan, Lotte's hometown and the nation's largest tourist city. Lotte Department Store operates five stores in Busan alone, including four department stores (Busan headquarters, Gwangbok branch, Centum City branch, Dongnae branch) and one outlet (Lotte Mall Dongbusan branch). In addition to Seoul, Busan operates the largest number of stores in a single area. As tourism demand, which has been stagnant for a while due to the COVID-19 outbreak, has recently revived, it is focusing on securing customers by introducing differentiated strategies based on the strengths of stores located in Busan's base area. <Photo> Provided by Lotte Department Store ＜Lotte Department Store Seomyeon Busan Main Store＞ The Busan headquarters, the first branch of Lotte Department Store to enter the region, opened in 1995 and was located near the busiest Seomyeon Station. It aims for a top-notch shopping space in line with the name of the main store, and has been expanded and renewed even after its opening. As Busan continues to grow into an international city, its headquarters also focuses on strengthening its competitiveness. In particular, it is focusing on strengthening contents such as overseas luxury shops. Lotte Department Store's Busan headquarters introduced the region's largest luxury museum "Avenuel" under the theme of "Department Store in Hotel" with department store stores in hotels through renewal expansion in 2017. At that time, the first and second floors of Lotte Hotel in Busan were renovated (total area of 5,950㎡ (1,800 pyeong)) and Avenue was built. In 2012, it created the largest luxury museum in the region with a total of 12,562㎡ (3,800 pyeong) along with the first basement floor, which was introduced with a size of 6612㎡ (2000 pyeong). Through this, it has established itself as the largest luxury department store in Busan by attracting more than 100 famous overseas brands. Currently, as consumption of male luxury goods continues to increase, the company is also reinforcing its core brands in male luxury goods halls. In addition, it is stepping up efforts to expand jewelry and watch brands in line with the demand for MZ generation (millennial generation), which is emerging as a big hand in the luxury market, and introduced Breggae, a top-quality watch brand, for the first time in the region. The Busan headquarters is connected to Lotte Hotel, playing a positive role in the increase in overseas tourists and away shoppers. As a result, despite the difficulty of overseas travel due to COVID-19 in recent years, the demand for customers who visited the luxury museum at the headquarters in Busan has steadily increased. Recently, it has continuously strengthened overseas luxury goods through renewal openings such as Burberry and Taghoyer. ＜Lotte Mall Dongbusan Branch＞ Lotte Mall Dongbu Mountain, which opened with an operating area of 78,231㎡, opened as the largest complex shopping mall in the Yeongnam region when it opened in 2014. It is located in the Dongbusan Tourist Complex in Gijang-gun, which is located along the sea, and after its opening, Busan tourists continued to visit, establishing itself as the "first place to travel to Busan." Dongbu Branch is focusing on strengthening its competitiveness through content reinforcement with the aim of expanding customer stores due to the recent expansion of tourists due to the pandemic. The first attempt attracted many famous restaurants. On July 14, the hooded coat on the third floor was fully renewed and "Tasty Ground" was introduced. The area of the existing food court was expanded from 760m (230 pyeong) to 1,074m (325 pyeong) and the store was formed with Seoul food, pets, eco-friendly and concept. It also reflected the demand of tourists and local residents by attracting restaurants in Seoul, which are not easily accessible in Busan. Examples include Firebell, a popular restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul, Jingawa, a noodle restaurant, Takumi Nagasaki, a handmade pork cutlet, and Tintin Express, a traditional Hanoi restaurant. In addition, a 16-seat "petground" (32.7 square meters, 10 pyeong) and an external terrace were created to showcase a space where you can enjoy meals with pets. It also drew attention by actively using eco-friendly products for interior of stores. In addition, interest in residential life has grown since the COVID-19 incident, and in June last year, Maison Dongbusan, the largest living center in the Yeongnam region, was opened. Maison Dongbu Mountain, which has a total area of 23,044㎡, has more than 40 famous domestic and foreign brands such as furniture, sofas, and home appliances, and at the 2,960㎡ Hanssem Design Park, you can experience a total home interior store. In addition, the 400-pyeong Pet Park, Brick Campus, a Lego exhibition experience space, and Shield Park, a professional shop where you can experience and teach skateboards, are also open, attracting great popularity among family visitors. ＜Lotte Department Store Dongnae Branch＞ Dongnae branch, which opened in Dongnae-gu, Busan in 2001, was renovated on the largest scale since its opening due to changes in local commercial districts. In November last year, the first floor of the department store was turned into a complex cultural space targeting more than 30,000 new apartments in the surrounding area. In addition, it has attracted the introduction of new premium food halls and Nike mega shops, and has opened new English kindergartens and kids cafes to reflect the high academic enthusiasm of local businesses. As a result, the proportion of young customers has increased by more than 20% compared to the previous half year after the renewal, and food and beverage sales have also increased by more than 40%, solidifying their position as representative stores in the region. ＜Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch＞ Lotte Department Store's Gwangbok branch, which boasts the nation's largest indoor fountain show, is continuing to coexist with the region more dynamically through communication with local college students. On the 9th, Lotte Department Store's Gwangbok branch's fountain on the 1st basement floor invited university clubs in Busan to showcase their talents and provide a place for local citizens to communicate. At that time, Busan National University's central art club Algreen, Busan National University's mechanical engineering department's academic club Mekatronics, and Dongseo University's cosmetics new material club Project Hub participated in the event, creating various attractions such as exhibitions, robot performances, and product demonstrations. The idea of a new MZ employee who seriously recognizes the problem of the Busan community, the leakage of young generations, played a major role in the hosting of the club invitation event. The Gwangbok branch also held various events, including free photo services and commemorative stickers, while hosting the club invitation event, drawing great response from participants. In Busan, Lotte Department Store not only serves to meet shopping demand, but also serves as a window for providing new cultures and services, or "lifestyle curators." In May, the largest art fair since its foundation was held at the Signiel Hotel in Busan. Lotte Art Fair, which was first held in the region, featured 12 famous galleries at home and abroad, 30 lifestyle and design brands, showcasing a variety of works, including pure art, crafts and design products. It also introduced premium daily products, showing a different orientation from the existing art fair. In particular, special edition works attracted attention. The wine opener, which was first unveiled in collaboration with writer Park Seo-bo and Italian living brand Alessi, was flooded with inquiries even before the opening, and the purchase procession continued to be called an "open run" on the start of the event. About 500 wine opener prepared for Art Fair were sold before the end of the event. Lotte Department Store has started activities to host the 2030 Expo in Busan. If the expo is hosted, it will be an opportunity to increase not only Busan but also national prestige, and it is estimated that the effect of inducing value-added will reach 61 trillion won. As a result, Lotte Department Store is focusing on informing customers of the Busan Expo first. Large signs have been installed on the outer walls of Gwangbok and Dongnae branches since the middle of last month to wish to attract the Busan Expo. A video of the bid is being transmitted to a large display attached to the building of the Busan headquarters, and an event is also underway for customers related to the Busan Expo to participate.