Lotte closes China hypermarkets as consumer sentiment sours

SHANGHAI - South Korea’s retail giant, the Lotte Group, has decided to sell many of its stores in China — its largest overseas market — after Chinese consumer sentiment soured following Seoul’s decision to host a U.S. anti-ballistic-missile system, Caixin reports.

The move only affects Lotte Marts — the brand’s hypermarkets, which sell supermarket items such as groceries, as well as electronics, clothing and other goods, Caixin says.

China had 112 of these stores at the end of June, and 87 have since been closed, Lotte Group spokesperson, Han Bo-young, told Caixin. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).