Lotte Group has clinched a deal to distribute an entire Chinese theme park project to a Chinese enterprise located in Shenyang. It has been confirmed that Lotte Group has agreed to pass on its China-based company in a deal reportedly worth 450 billion won (£261m).
The project, known as Lotte Town, includes a theme park, a residential area, a department store and a movie theatre.
The news coincides with an upward turn for the Korean entertainment group with recent economic and visitor numbers heralding a brighter future. Indeed, figures confirm that level are near to pre-pandemic posting their highest ever profits for the year 2023 – Lotte World, run by Lotte Hotel and one of South Korea’s largest theme parks, earned 45.4 billion won (£26m) in operating profit, a 9.3% increase on-year. The increased figures are due to an exponential rise in visitor numbers and increased entry tickets.Â
For further context, back in 2020, guest numbers at Lotte World diminished considerably by nearly one-fourth to 1.55million from 5.78million in 2019. It posted an operating loss of over 100 billion won (£57.8m) in 2020.
To combat losses, Lotte World raised its ticket price to 62,000 won (£36.78) in 2022 from 59,000 won (£34.21) in 2021. And in 2023, visitor numbers for the park soared to 90% pre-pandemic levels thanks to the increase in foreign visitors. In the first quarter of this year, attendance at Lotte World rose 25%, compared to the year-earlier period.
The business metrics demonstrate that Lotte Group continues to expand and grow, namely through strategic alliances with coveted intellectual property (IP) of digital comics and forging partnerships with entertainment content developers as the group strives to sow the seeds of success.
Images: Lotte World
