Lotte Mart Co., South Korea's third-largest discount store chain, said Thursday it has opened its 79th Chinese outlet in Weihai, raising the number of its overseas stores to 103.
Lotte Mart, the discount division of the country's second-largest retailer Lotte Shopping Co., made inroads into China in 2007 by taking over eight Chinese stores from SHV, a Dutch wholesaler.
The discount store chain also launched a new local outlet in Jecheon, 168 kilometers south of Seoul, increasing the number of its domestic stores to 88, the company said in a statement.
In October, Lotte Mart opened its 21st store in Jakarta, Indonesia, a market that the company tapped in 2008 by acquiring a 75 percent stake in
discount retailer PT Makro Indonesia.
Lotte Shopping, a unit of the retail-oriented conglomerate Lotte Group, is trying to beef up its presence in Indonesia. Lotte Shopping submitted
last month letters of intent to buy the discount division of Matahari, Indonesia's second-largest retailer.
Industry sources estimate a takeover of Matahari's discount division would cost 1 trillion won (US$900 million).
Lotte Shopping operates two divisions -- Lotte Mart and Lotte Department Store, South Korea's largest department store chain.