On the 14th, Lotte and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced that they held the 'Lotte-Korea Brand Expo in Europe' in Paris, France, from the 30th of last month to the 13th, supporting domestic small and medium-sized enterprises in entering the European market, achieving export consultations worth $63.96 million (approximately 90.8 billion won).
The 'Korea Brand Expo' began in 2016 as a win-win program by Lotte Home Shopping to help small and medium-sized enterprises explore overseas markets and expanded from 2022 as a representative program for the Lotte Group's mutual growth.
This event, co-hosted by Lotte, KOTRA, and the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Fisheries Cooperation Foundation, was held for the first time in Paris, a business hub densely populated with European buyers, and it is the second one in Europe since the consultation meeting in Germany in 2022.
Due to continuous requests from corporations, K-brands were introduced again in Europe after three years.
This year, the scale was expanded to include ▲ a B2C promotional event linked to the largest consumer fair in Europe ▲ B2B export consultations inviting buyers from 13 European countries ▲ and on-site mobile live broadcasts in Paris.
In particular, reflecting last year’s record high domestic cosmetics export performance of $10.2 billion, 60% of the participating corporations were beauty companies.
A total of 511 consultations were conducted at the export consultation event participated by 50 domestic small and medium-sized enterprises and over 120 buyers from 13 European countries including France, Germany, and Spain, achieving consultation results worth $63.96 million.
Among the local corporations that completed consultations, more than 80% expressed their willingness to actively pursue contracts, with prospects of quickly translating these into export results.
The opening ceremony of the event was held on the 12th at the large event hall 'Pavillon Vendôme' located in the center of Paris.
Key figures including Kim Jae-kyum, CEO of Lotte Home Shopping, Lee Dong-kyu, head of communications, Moon Seung-hyun, South Korea's Ambassador to France, and Kim Jong-hyun, head of KOTRA’s Consumer Bio Division attended.
During the export consultation meetings held over the 12th and 13th, business agreements (MOU) were continuously signed on-site.
During the event, along with the showcase of participating corporations' products, five affiliate companies of the Lotte Group, including Lotte Home Shopping, Lotte Department Store, and LOTTE Wellfood, also participated in import consultations with local buyers.
Additionally, live commerce 'E-Live' by Lotte Home Shopping was conducted on-site in Paris, introducing products of participating corporations and popular local items, receiving a high level of response.
A space was also provided to directly showcase K-brands to European consumers.
From the 30th of last month to the 11th, they operated a B2C promotional booth at the 120-year-old largest consumer goods exhibition in Europe, the 'Foire de Paris' in Paris.
Among popular domestic brands, the hair loss shampoo 'Gravity' developed by KAIST researchers and the comfortable shoes 'Le Mouton' saw 40,000 visitors in the experience area. During the event, 2,350 sales were recorded.
Meanwhile, since 2016, Lotte Home Shopping has been holding export consultation meetings in regions where domestic small and medium-sized enterprises wish to enter through the 'Korea Brand Expo', offering one-on-one consultations and product localization consulting.
To date, they have held a total of 20 events, accumulating 10,380 consultations and export consultation amounts totaling 1.65 trillion won.
Kim Jae-kyum, CEO of Lotte Home Shopping, noted, 'The Korea Brand Expo is a representative win-win platform of the Lotte Group that helps discover excellent domestic small and medium-sized enterprises products and settle them in overseas markets.' He added, 'I am pleased that the event held for the first time in Paris was concluded with positive responses from participating corporations, buyers, and customers, and I will continue to provide support to ensure it leads to practical export results.'
Kang Kyung-sung, President of KOTRA, said, 'This event is a model case of cooperation between the government, large corporations, and small and medium-sized enterprises to diversify the global export market.' He emphasized, 'In the future, KOTRA will continue to support cooperation for joint entry of large and small enterprises amid changes in the global trade environment.'