Lotte Confectionary Case

After its foundation as Lotte Confectionary in Japan in 1948, Lotte Group (henceforth referred to as Lotte) has grown to be among the largest companies in South Korea, currently ranking the 6th largest chaebol (Korean conglomerate company) based on revenues. As any other big company, Lotte had to start as small company and develop a strategy to grow further. The story of Lotte is partially a success story, however, there are also some controversies and challenges surrounding the group. This paper will look deeper into the development Lotte has made, and analyze what Lotte has made so strong, but it will also try to detect its weaknesses, and how Lotte can overcome these.

Originally, Shin Kyuk Ho (Takeo Shigemitsu in Japanese), the founder and current general chairman of Lotte, started Lotte Confectionary as a producer of bubble gum in Tokyo, Japan. He quickly acquired some capital and expanded his business, producing different brands of bubble gum and other confectionary. In the following decades, Lotte entered different food markets, such as fast food, ham, and beverages. Furthermore, Lotte embraced different types of goods and services, starting a hotel, financial services, department stores, and even owning two baseball teams (Lotte History, 2015). The reason why Lotte has been able to succeed in so many different
Especially the first son, who does not communicate to the press in Korean. Recent news about possible legal investigations into the business activities of Lotte restarted the debate about whether Lotte was Korean or Japanese. As a compensation and to take away any doubt, Lotte places a gigantic Korean flag on the Lotte World Tower, which is still under construction. Aiming to be one of the tallest buildings in South-East Asia, Lotte made clear that its affection primarily lies with South