Lotte Mart to open two more stores in Vietnam this year

Lotte Mart, a major South Korean discounter, said that it will open its third outlet in Vietnam, the Bien Hoa store, on Nov. 29. Bien Hoa, about 30km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, is the capital of Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam.

The Bien Hoa outlet also houses a movie theater, gaming room and childcare center, the company said in a press release.

Lotte Mart said it plans to open its fourth outlet in the Southeast Asian country, the Da Nang store, in late December. The port city of Da Nang in central Vietnam is the country's fourth largest city.

The discounter entered the Vietnamese retail market in late 2008 when it opened a store in Ho Chi Minh City after establishing Lotte Vietnam Shopping, a joint venture with Minh Van Private Enterprise, in 2005.

The establishmewnt of two more stores in Vietnam will bring the discounter's total number of overseas outlets to 134, including 100 stores in China and 30 in Indonesia. Lotte Mart is an affiliate of Lotte Shopping, South Korea's second largest retailer.

Lotte Mart plans to open two more stores in the Southeast Asian nation in 2013, the spokesman said.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com