Lotte's woes deepen after losing licence for duty free shop

Seoul

TROUBLED South Korean retail giant Lotte, already struggling with a prolonged founder-family feud, has seen its business woes deepen with the loss of the state licence for one of its biggest duty free shops ahead of a key initial public offering (IPO).

The country's fifth largest business group suffered its latest body-blow at the weekend when South Korea's customs agency awarded its concession to a rival bidder - the heavy industries giant Doosan Co.

The licence covered a 10,990 sq m store in South Korea's tallest skyscraper - the Lotte World Tower and Mall complex in downtown Seoul.

Lotte, which had held the licence for five years, had already invested 300 billion won (S$365 million) in the store, and the customs agency's d…