South Korean retail chain Lotte Mart has denied reports that it intends to move its headquarters to China.Kim Min-suk, a company spokesperson, told the Global Times Thursday the company had no such plans.There have been media reports that Lotte Mart Chief Executive Noh Byung-yong expressed his desire for a potential move to China in a recent meeting with company officials.
"The CEO may have wanted to emphasize the growing importance of the overseas market, and we do see the potential of the market in China," Kim said.
Lotte Mart has 107 overseas stores, with 82 in China, 23 in Indonesia and two in Vietnam.
The company's overseas sales last year were 2.6 trillion won ($2.4 billion), with its sales up to 1.7 trillion won in China, compared to its domestic sales of 5.9 trillion won. "So there is still great potential in the Chinese market," said Kim.
"It is understandable that overseas companies have seen the great potential of the Chinese market. The retail business in South Korea has kind of stalled in recent years," Wang Xianqing, director of the Institute of Economics with the Guangdong University of Business Studies, told the Global Times Thursday.
Wang said Lotte aimed to expand its market share overseas to gain more profit, but rather than being a hostile move, it could be beneficial in terms of contributing to optimum competition in the retail market in China. He also said it would not influence domestic retail companies strongly.
"It will still take time for Lotte to gain market share in China, and the situation currently with the retail business will not be changed in a short time," Cui Xingfang, a retail industry analyst with Beijing Shangpu Information Consult Co, told the Global Times Thursday.
Cui said Chinese consumers are sensitive to prices. The foreign supermarkets may have a better environment but their prices are usually higher when they first enter the Chinese market.
"So they have to maintain their own characteristics while standing in the Chinese market," Cui noted.
Retail chain giants Carrefour and Wal-Mart both failed with their ventures in South Korea.
French retail group Carrefour sold its South Korean stores in 2006 to the local fashion retailer E-Land for 1.75 trillion won. Less than a month later, Wal-Mart sold its 16 Korean stores to the country's biggest discount chain, Shinsegae.
Park Gayoung contributed to the story
来源：Korean retailer eager to expand overseas sales
Global Times | August 11, 2011 By Yu Xi