Is Liqun acquiring Lotte Mart? On the evening of March 2, Liqun Group announced that it was planning a major matter and intended to sign a strategic cooperation agreement that could significantly impact its retail business system and supply chain operations. The company's stock was suspended from trading starting March 5. As a result, many netizens recently speculated that the trading halt of Shandong-based retailer Liqun Group on March 2 might be related to South Korea's Lotte Mart. Liqun currently operates 39 stores, 2 e-commerce subsidiaries, 11 wholesale logistics subsidiaries, and 3 logistics centers, with stores mainly spread across Qingdao and the surrounding Shandong Peninsula. Its core business includes retail chain operations focused on department stores, supermarkets, and electronics, as well as brand agency and commercial logistics distribution supported by urban logistics centers. Lotte Mart is mainly concentrated in the Jiangsu region. If the acquisition succeeds, it would be beneficial for Liqun to expand beyond Qingdao, and choosing to enter the economically developed Jiangsu region is indeed a good choice. In 2002, China Resources Vanguard acquired Suguo Supermarket and became a dominant player in East China. Acquiring Lotte's business in Jiangsu and Zhejiang would undoubtedly increase the acquirer's influence in the region, allowing it to compete with China Resources Suguo. In summary, involving Liqun in this deal makes sense. According to Lianshang.com, Liqun immediately denied that the trading halt was related to Lotte Mart, while Lotte Mart responded: "In talks, not finalized!" What is the truth? Countdown to Lotte Mart's withdrawal from China

  1. Lotte has been repeatedly exposed to plans to sell its supermarkets in China, but has "firmly denied" them. Affected by the THAAD dispute, Lotte Mart's performance in China has been dismal and unsustainable, leading to the decision to sell its supermarket business in China. However, Lotte Group officials denied this.
  2. China Lotte Mart is on the verge of collapse. Almost all of Lotte Mart's 112 stores in China have suspended operations. Due to the THAAD dispute, Chinese consumers have avoided Lotte supermarkets, and even non-closed branches are nearly empty. This led to Lotte Shopping's China business suffering a net loss of 500 billion Korean won (approximately 2.93 billion RMB) in the first half of 2017, its worst performance in years.
  3. Korea's Lotte Group made two emergency "capital injections." First injection: On March 24, 2017, Korea's Lotte Group injected 360 billion Korean won (approximately 2.16 billion RMB) into China Lotte Mart, with officials estimating it would only last until the end of August. Second injection: On August 31, 2017, Korea's Lotte Group made a second emergency injection of $300 million (approximately 1.98 billion RMB) into China Lotte Mart.
  4. Lotte's closure and sale On November 6, 2017, Beijing time, Lotte officially announced the sale of all its supermarkets in China. Due to dismal performance and huge losses, Lotte decided to exit the Chinese market! Earlier, Lotte had claimed it would never give up its China business! However, the snowballing losses grew larger, becoming a bottomless pit, forcing Lotte to cut its losses. The year's biggest drama queen! From firmly refusing to exit the Chinese market, to emergency capital injections, to exiting and seeking buyers, Lotte kept adding drama to itself. It truly is the year's biggest drama queen! During this period, Lotte Mart was rumored to be in talks with CP Group, the parent company of Lotus Supermarket, but the cooperation eventually "fizzled out," with no confirmed information that the two sides had contacted each other. Now, when asked by the media, Lotte responds again: "In talks, not finalized!" Korean company Lotte is really leaving, but who will be the buyer? Even after a year of events, who would be willing to take over this "hot potato"? Source: Food Industry Entrepreneur (ID: shiyehome) -END-