By Kim Hyun-bin
Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is in Europe to meet with major business partners in France, Germany, and the U.K. to expand investments and seek cooperation with European companies, including luxury goods and food and beverage companies.
The move comes as the demand for European luxury goods in domestic department stores is steadily on the rise, and all eyes are on how Chairman Shin plans to negotiate and enhance cooperation.
"Chairman Shin has left for Europe over the weekend and will be holding meetings with business partners there," a Lotte Group official said.
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| Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin |
Since 2020, Chairman Shin has only traveled between Korea and Japan, but starting this year, Shin has visited the U.S. in April and Europe this month aiming to expand possible new growth areas.
Last month, Lotte announced a plan to invest a total of 37 trillion won in key industries such as chemicals, food and infrastructure over the next five years.
In April, Chairman Shin visited the biopharmaceutical production plant of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), a global pharmaceutical company located in Syracuse, New York, and last month, the company acquired the plant for $160 million.
Earlier this month, the conglomerate launched Lotte Biologics, making its debut at the 2022 Bio International Convention, the world's largest biotech and pharmaceutical convention, held in the U.S.
After a business trip to Europe, there is also a possibility that Chairman Shin will visit Japan.
This possibility has to do with the general shareholders' meeting of Japan's Lotte Holdings, which is at the top of Lotte Group's Korea-Japan governance structure, being scheduled for later this month.
"It is difficult to confirm the detailed schedule of Chairman Shin's business trip," a Lotte Group official said.
