Lotte Shopping closing down

Lotte Shopping is trying to offload its department store annexed to Anyang train station, 20km from Seoul.

It is said to be in the final stage of closing a deal with shopping mall group Enter Six to either sell or transfer its lease rights on the store, reports Pulse.

With nine floors above ground and one below, Lotte Department Store Anyang is connected to the Anyang station and is within walking distance of an intercity bus terminal.

After opening in 2002, the branch was the only major shopping mall in the area, but sales nosedived after Lotte Department Store’s Pyeongchon branch opened in March 2012. The two Lotte department stores are only 2.8km apart. The retailer still has nearly half of its 30-year lease term left on the Anyang building.

Lotte Shopping is shutting down its poor-performing stores. Meanwhile, E-mart, the big-box store chain of Shinsegae, also has been scaling back.