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Lotte Hi-Mart

Lotte Hi-Mart is a South Korean retailer of electronic goods. It was originally a unit of bankrupt Daewoo Electronics that founder Seon Jong-koo spun off in 1999. Hi-Mart is headquartered in Seoul. Hi-mart was taken over by Lotte Corporation on July 6, 2012.[2]

History

Seon Jong-koo was formerly employed by Daewoo Electronics. When the company went bankrupt in 1999, he joined a spin-off company that became Hi-Mart.[3][4]

In June 2008, South Korean chaebol Eugene Group acquired 32.4% of Hi-Mart. in June 2010, the company went public.[3]

In July 2012, Lotte Corporation acquired a 65.3% of Hi-Mart for $1.1 billion. Hi-Mart operated 290 stores in Korea, controlling 35% of the market. The acquisition was maneuvered in the midst of a scandal about its founder and CEO, Seon Jong-koo, accused of embezzlement totaling $228 million.[5] In April 2012, one witness jumped out his apartment's window after being questioned by Korea's justice about bribing Seon Jong-koo. In December 2014, Seon Jong-koo was replaced by Lee Dong-woo.[1] He was the second largest shareholder of the company and heavily supported by Hi-Mart's employees.[6]

In October 2012, the deal was approved by the Korea Fair Trade Commission and the company announced it is changing the stores' names to Lotte Hi-Mart.[7]

See also

  • Electronic commerce
  • Online auction business model
  • Shopping mall

External links

References

  1. Park Eun-Jee. Lotte switches execs after safety controversies Joins.com, 27 December 2014, retrieved 2016-08-07^
  2. 롯데쇼핑, 하이마트 1조2천480억 인수 Naver.com, retrieved 2013-09-15^
  3. Jaeyeon Woo. A Sad Twist in Hi Mart Tale The Wall Street Journal, 5 April 2012, retrieved 2016-08-07^
  4. Lotte Group to bid for Hi Mart Inside Retail Asia, 16 December 2011, retrieved 2016-08-07^
  5. S.Korea Lotte pays $1.1 billion for controlling Hi-Mart stake Reuters, 6 July 2012, retrieved 2016-08-07^
  6. Lee Ji-yoon. Hi Mart management feud escalates The Korea Herald, 29 November 2011, retrieved 2016-08-07^
  7. Park Si-soo. Lotte gets green light to acquire Hi-Mart Koreantimes.co.kr, 29 October 2012, retrieved 2016-08-07^