[Edaily Reporter KYUNG GYEYOUNG ] LOTTE Himart continued to post weak results in the second quarter due to a slump in the home appliance market. LOTTE Himart plans to expand its business and improve performance by focusing on its “Ansim Care” service and IT and mobile product lines.

LOTTE Himart(071840)The company announced on the 4th that its consolidated operating profit for the second quarter was 900 million won, a 91.3% decrease compared to the same period last year. Preliminary figures for the same period showed revenue declining by 0.5% to 591.1 billion won, while net loss widened to 4.5 billion won.

The continued slump in the home appliance market, coupled with a one-time factor—a 6.6 billion won VAT refund received in the second quarter of last year—is believed to have contributed to the poor performance.

LOTTE Himart emphasized that revenue from its “Ansim Care” service is on an upward trend, rising from 21.3 billion won in 2023 to 37.0 billion won in 2024 and 51.5 billion won in 2025. In the first half of this year, sales from the “Ansim Care” service reached 37.3 billion won, a 44% increase compared to the same period last year. The percentage of customers purchasing both home appliances and services also rose from 15% in 2023 to 52.5% in the first half of this year.

At the same time, LOTTE Himart’s core IT and mobile categories—including cell phones, earphones, and computer peripherals—continued to post double-digit sales growth rates compared to the same period last year, at 15.3% in the first quarter and 13.7% in the second quarter. Since the replacement cycle for IT and mobile products is around four years—compared to the eight- to ten-year cycle for major home appliances—customers visit stores more frequently for these items.

LOTTE Himart is strengthening its IT and mobile-related businesses by recently launching its exclusive “Hi-mart Plan” and bolstering its used mobile device business. In fact, the conversion rate—the percentage of customers who sell used mobile devices and then purchase new products—rose from 5% in March to 16% by the end of July, and the volume of devices purchased exceeded 1,000 units per month.

LOTTE Himart’s core strategy is to expand customer touchpoints by strengthening the high-frequency IT and mobile sectors, thereby driving sales in high-margin categories such as large home appliances and household/kitchen appliances.

In addition, LOTTE Himart plans to actively pursue its Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX) initiative to enhance productivity through structural improvements. The company aims to strengthen sales capabilities and improve store operational efficiency by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into store operations—specifically through the analysis of customer behavior data and the enhancement of customer consultation and sales support systems.