Lotte and KOTRA hosted the 'Lotte Brand Expo in Central Europe' to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in exploring overseas markets.

According to Lotte on the 27th, the event, held from the 23rd to the 25th in Vienna, Austria, saw the participation of 50 outstanding Korean SMEs and approximately 200 buyers from 76 European companies, including those from Germany, France, Hungary, and Romania. The accumulated number of consultations reached 575, with export consultation amounts totaling USD 49.9 million (approximately KRW 71.8 billion).

The opening ceremony took place on the 24th at 'Messe Wien', the largest exhibition center in Vienna, Austria. Attendees included Kim Jae-gyeom, CEO of Lotte Home Shopping, Lee Dong-kyu, Head of Communications, and Ham Sang-wook, Korean Ambassador to Austria, among other officials.

Austria, a major hub for entry into the Central European market, is a high-income country with a GDP per capita exceeding USD 50,000 and serves as a logistics center bordering eight Central European countries. At the export consultation site, which continued over two days, more than 80% of local companies expressed a strong intention to proceed with contracts, indicating a positive response. Notably, 12 European buyers who participated in the 'Lotte Brand Expo' held in Paris last May revisited, suggesting the potential for tangible export results in the near future.

Additionally, with over 85% of the participating companies being beauty firms, there was significant interest from local buyers in K-beauty. Lotte Home Shopping also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the beauty distribution channel 'Kabote' to enter the European market.

For the B2C event, a promotional integrated hall with a premium drugstore concept was set up, allowing participating companies to directly demonstrate their products and encourage local consumer experiences. Furthermore, leveraging its core competency in home shopping, Lotte showcased a 'K-beauty Live Show' hosted by a show host, and provided Korean cultural content such as hanbok wearing experiences and the traditional game 'Tuho'.

Meanwhile, the Lotte Brand Expo is a win-win program initiated by Lotte Home Shopping in 2016 to assist Korean SMEs in entering overseas markets. Since 2022, it has been expanded at the Lotte Group level, establishing itself as a representative co-growth program with diverse SME participation. To date, it has been held 21 times, with a cumulative 10,955 consultations and export consultation amounts reaching KRW 1.734 trillion.

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