이 기사는 2021년 08월 03일 08시03분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Lotte Shopping has been audited by Lotte Corp for two months.

Industry watchers are paying attention to the possible impact of the results amid Lotte Shopping’s poor performance although the company says it is only a regular audit for management improvement.

Lotte Shopping's competitiveness seems to be lagging behind its rival Emart while a change in consumption patterns from offline to online is accelerating.

Lotte Shopping's full-fledged reform began in December 2019 when Lotte Group announced its large-scale executive reshuffle. At that time, Kang Hee-tae was promoted to Lotte Shopping CEO and head of distribution business unit from Lotte Department Store CEO.

Lotte Group authorized Kang to supervise the entire retail operation ranging from department store, convenience store, supermarket to home shopping businesses. Born in 1959, Kang joined Lotte Shopping in 1987.

In August 2020, Lotte Corp surprisingly appointed Lee Dong-woo as its vice chairman to fill outgoing Hwang Kag-gyu’s spot. Lotte Corp decided to leave each business unit heads to take charge of the business, which made Kang expand his management and authority as the head.

At the end of last year, Moon Young-pyo, CEO of Lotte Mart, and Chang Ho-joo, executive vice president, resigned. In February, Cho Young-je, head of the e-commerce business unit at Lotte Shopping, resigned to take responsibility for the poor performance of the company’s Lotte On e-commerce shopping platform.

This may have put a burden on Kang, who is leading the group’s retail businesses. Lotte Shopping's withdrawal from the race to acquire eBay Korea, which will be taken over by Emart, may also further weaken its position in the ecommerce market.

Market insiders are also eyeing Kang’s term, which has been extended until March 2023. (Reporting by Seon-ho Kim)