Lotte Home Shopping is working to secure future growth engines through an in-house venture system that discovers new businesses based on the creative ideas of its employees. This program operates by providing selected teams, chosen through document review and presentation evaluation of ideas proposed by employees, with office space, initial funding, and mentoring as part of a nurturing program.
In January of this year, Lotte Home Shopping recruited in-house venture ideas from employees on various topics including artificial intelligence (AI), media, content, and health. On the 22nd (Tuesday), it held a presentation event for business plans related to the in-house venture at its headquarters in Yangpyeong-dong.
Five teams that passed the review will undergo a final presentation, and two teams will be selected as targets for full-scale commercialization. The selected teams will receive initial funding of 30 million won, dedicated office space, follow-up support of up to 100 million won, and mentoring from external experts starting in May. Once the business is on track, it can also be operated through equity investment via corporate spin-off or as a corporate independent entity (CIC). So far, 80 employees have participated in the in-house venture idea competition.
In last year's in-house venture recruitment program, a marketing idea related to discovering dining brands was selected as the final winner. Lotte Home Shopping is continuing this initiative as a new business called the "Home Dining Project." It has opened a YouTube channel named "Home Dining Project" to operate branded content and has assisted in selling products on the official Lotte Home Shopping online mall.
This in-house venture has collaborated with four brands, including the Mexican restaurant "Bear Taco" and the Mapo tofu specialty restaurant "Gyeongmongru," so far. They are in the process of creating meal kit products with the Korean pork and Korean beef rib restaurant "Natural Storage," as well as proceeding with the onboarding process. In the future, they plan to expand their sales channels through Lotte Home Shopping's live commerce, "Elive."
Lotte Home Shopping's in-house venture program is also known for giving birth to the character "Belly Bear." In 2018, a second-year employee sketched a large pink bear while pondering a "character that people would like," leading to the development of a global character that now boasts a fanbase of 1.7 million.
Lee Sang-woo, head of the new business cell at Lotte Home Shopping, noted, "Through the in-house venture system, we are providing diverse support so that employees' ideas can become actual businesses," adding, "We will not spare any institutional, financial, or organizational support to continuously discover new business opportunities in the future."