Lotte GRS launches burger shop chain in Mongolia

Lotte GRS Co., the restaurant franchise unit of South Korea’s fifth largest conglomerate Lotte Group, is launching fast-food restaurant brand Lotteria in Mongolia with an aim to raise the store number to 10 in the next four years. 

According to Lotte GRS on Monday, Lotteria’s first restaurant in Mongolia opens in Ulaanbaatar, the country’s capital city. Its opening follows after Lotte GRS in September signed on a master franchise deal with Mongolia’s restaurant and theater operator Eugenetek Mongolia LLC. 

The master franchise deal is a common international franchise development contract in which a franchiser allows a master franchisee to operate its brand stores with local franchisees and shares its operation knowhow for fees. 

Eugenetek Mongolia aims to open a total of 10 Lotteria outlet stores by 2022, Lotte GRS added. 

Lotte GRS expects the new restaurant would generate stable profits as it is located in a commercial district with popular shopping centers. Mongolia is also a young country with people under age 35 making up 65 percent of total population, raising hopes for a fast growth of the fast-food restaurant chain business. The popularity of Korean culture including K-pop and drama has also been growing in the country with consumers gaining favorable impression on Korean brands. 

“We’ll keep up efforts to expand the restaurant business in Mongolia based on our international franchise development knowhow,” said a company official. 

Lotte GRS has so far made forays into eight countries including Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Mongolia. It now owns two franchise brands of fast-food chain Lotteria and coffee shop chain Angel-in-us.

By Lee Duk-joo and Lee Ha-yeon