Lotte Department Store Expands K-Beauty Presence with Pop-Up in LA

Lotte Department Store is set to showcase domestic K-Beauty brands in Los Angeles, aiming to expand international market access for emerging brands.
 
From October 13 to 17, Lotte will operate a 'K-Culture Beauty and Fashion Pop-Up' at the Korean Cultural Center's global K-Zone 'LA:ON.'
 
This event marks the opening of the K-Zone in LA, a project led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with Lotte Department Store as the sole retail partner.
 
The pop-up will feature seven brands, including skincare lines Aromatica and Centellian24, fragrance brands Vivienne and Hetrass, as well as Lotte's K-Beauty edit shop 'The Cast.'
 
Interactive experiences will be available for local customers, including AI skin diagnostics, skincare routine recommendations, and personal fragrance consultations, aiming to provide a comprehensive brand experience beyond mere product sales.
 
Lotte's initiative in LA is driven by a recent surge in demand for K-Beauty among foreign customers. In the past three months, foreign sales of Lotte's K-Beauty products have increased by 110% compared to the same period last year, with North American customer sales rising by 120%.
 
As of October 6, Lotte's cumulative foreign sales for the year surpassed 1 trillion won, marking the first time a domestic department store has achieved this milestone in annual foreign sales.
 
Notably, the proportion of sales from North American and European customers at the Jamsil branch has expanded to 35%, indicating a shift in foreign consumer interest from the Chinese market to North America and Europe.
 
Lotte plans to use this pop-up not just as a promotional event but as a testbed to assess the market potential of emerging brands.
 
Brands that struggle to establish their own overseas distribution networks will be supported in leveraging the Korean Cultural Center's infrastructure to gauge local consumer reactions and secure new customers.
 
Follow-up support for participating brands will continue, with Hetrass planning to hold its first standalone pop-up at Lotte Outlet Seoul Station in December.
 
Smaller brands will also receive assistance in expanding their online and offline distribution networks through Lotte's live shopping-focused edit shop 'The Cast.'
 
Jung Soo-yeon, head of Lotte Department Store's Beauty & Accessories division, stated, "Participating in the global K-Zone is an attempt to connect brands we have discovered with overseas customers and explore the next growth stage for our partners. We will continue to discover emerging brands and establish a virtuous cycle of co-prosperity with them."