Korean retailer Lotte appoints two former BCG consultants

Korean retail player Lotte has appointed two former Boston Consulting Group (BCG) consultants to senior leadership roles.

Sung Hyun Kang

Sung Hyun Kang takes over as CEO of Lotte Mart – the retail giant’s discount chain. Kang has retail experience at strategy consultancies Booz Allen Hamilton and Boston Consulting Group under his belt, and joined Lotte as Executive Director of the Lotte Strategy & Insight Centre more than a decade ago in 2009.

He was elevated to CEO of the company’s Love, Health & Beauty Store in 2012, and has since been CEO at Lotte-Nestle – in charge of manufacturing & distribution of mix coffee products, pet foods and other industrial raw material concerning coffee products. He now takes the helm of Lotte Mart, also retaining his Love, Health & Beauty responsibilities.

Jeong Kyung-woon

Back in October, Lotte appointed Kyung-woon to Executive Vice President of Lotte’s Planning Strategy Division – marking the first external appointment to a general executive position. A management consultant by background, Kyung-woon also spent a number of years at BCG.

This was followed by a spell as head of management planning at pharmaceutical company Dong-A ST, and another as an audit committee member of Seoul Savings Bank. In his new role Kyung-woon is tasked with leading business restructuring and strategy efforts at his new division, overseeing Lotte’s five business segments – department store, discount chain, supermarket, ecommerce and drugstore.

Steadying ship

The senior appointments come amid a challenging retail landscape in South Korea and the broader Asia Pacific market. Consumer preferences are changing by the day, while spending is on a significant low. Online retail is taking centre stage, and big-ticket retailers such as Lotte are looking to repivot their offering in line with the new normal.

Now helming key business segments, Hyung Kang and Kyung-woon will be hoping to help with shape the future retail strategy for Lotte, which has seen declining revenues over the last decade or so. According to Statista, the company was generating more than 8 trillion South Korean Won in revenue up until 2016, before dipping to in and around the 3 trillion mark.