Lotte leader Shin Dong-bin stresses pivot to AI-centered innovation

Shin Dong-bin, chairman of South Korea’s retail, food and chemicals conglomerate Lotte, on Friday urged affiliate executives to ramp up efforts to transform into an artificial intelligence-powered business group.

At Lotte’s biannual meeting of group affiliate executives, the Value Creation Meeting (VCM), the chairman also called on Lotte leaders to find new growth engines in the robotics and mobility sectors.

“To overcome the crisis Lotte faces today, we must try and achieve innovation that has never been attempted before and apply new technology such as AI to our business models,” he said.

The meeting was attended by some 80 CEOs and division heads from Lotte affiliates, including the holding company Lotte Corp.

Shin Yoo-yeol, the eldest son of the group chairman, also attended the meeting as the conglomerate’s future growth business chief and Lotte Biologics Co.’s global strategy officer.

He assumed the role following Lotte’s executive reshuffle last December – a move widely seen as a third-generation member of its founding family coming to the fore.

2024 LOTTE INVESTMENT SHOWCASE

Before the VCM meeting, Chairman Shin and affiliate CEOs attended the 2024 Lotte Investment Showcase, a gathering of 16 in-house and independent startups, to have hands-on experience with the latest technologies in various sectors, including AI, robotics and logistics automation.

The startups that showcased their tech at the event include Walker’s High, a Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co. spin-off and an Internet of Things (IoT)-based unmanned store platform operator; Clobot, an autonomous robot startup that’s currently coworking with Lotte Global Logistics Co. for logistics automation; and LetinAR, a high-resolution, low-weight augmented reality (AR) glass maker.

Lotte Group, with its business focus on food, retail and chemicals, is pivoting toward biopharmaceuticals, healthcare and information technology, respectively with Lotte Biologics, Lotte Healthcare and Lotte Data Communication Co. taking central roles.

Lotte Innovate Co. plans to unveil Dooroo Eye, an autonomous security robot, later this month.

Lotte Department Store is already operating Aimember, an AI-powered chatbot service, and has incorporated ChatGPT tech into its business collaboration tool JANDI.

The department store company has also deployed AI-powered cleaning robots at its stores, shopping malls and outlets.

Lotte Shopping Co. has joined hands with Ocado Group plc, a UK-based logistics company, to build an advanced AI-based logistics center in Korea.

SEEKING A BREAKTHROUGH

Lotte is seeking a breakthrough as it faces a hostile business environment.

During last year’s VCM in July, Chairman Shin said: “We must create our own ways of working that align with the current environment, through flexible thinking. You cannot survive unless you try something new.”

His call for innovation comes after the credit ratings of several Lotte affiliates, including Lotte Chemical Corp., the group’s cash cow, were downgraded by a domestic ratings agency last year amid a worsening business climate.

More recently, Lotte’s retail business faces strong competition with online shopping giants such as Coupang while its chemical affiliates are losing ground to their rivals in China and the Middle East.

Write to Jae-Kwang Ahn and Hyun-jin Ra at ahnjk@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.