Lotte Mart has launched the ‘Global Bridge in Indonesia’ initiative in Jakarta to bolster the overseas expansion efforts of South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Global Bridge event, held in partnership with the Foundation for Agricultural Cooperation between Large and Small Corporations, follows last year’s ‘Korea Together Festival’ in Vietnam, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
On June 4, the program included an export consultation meeting involving 20 leading Korean SMEs in the food and beauty sectors and 24 Indonesian buyers. The event yielded over 130 consultations, generating export discussions worth approximately $9.5 million (around 13 billion won). Several participating firms secured agreements, including memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with local buyers and plans for store openings with Lotte Mart’s Indonesian operations.
To further assist market entry, Lotte Mart conducted a strategy seminar with Indonesian e-commerce platforms, carried out local hypermarket research, and organized visits to halal certification agencies such as LPPOM. Additionally, the company operated a ‘Lotte Mart Play Market’ pop-up store at Jakarta’s Galleria City Mall from June 4 onwards to promote Korean products directly to local consumers.
Since entering Southeast Asia in 2008, Lotte Mart has expanded to 63 stores across the region, including 48 in Indonesia and 15 in Vietnam. The retailer exports over 500 private brand (PB) products to 14 countries, including Mongolia and Hong Kong, with more than 90% sourced from Korean SMEs.
Lotte Mart’s global operations continue to deliver solid performance. Last year, the company posted overseas sales of 1.497 trillion won and an operating profit of 47.8 billion won. In the first quarter of this year, sales reached 468.9 billion won and operating profit climbed to 21.4 billion won, representing year-on-year increases of 9.5% and 20.6%, respectively.
Jin Ju-tae, head of Lotte Mart’s compliance support division, stated, “Through our SME support programs over the past two years, we’ve achieved meaningful results, including around 30 billion won in consultations with nearly 100 companies. As an operator of offline retail outlets abroad, we will continue to aid the global outreach of Korean SMEs.”
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