South Korea’s Lotte has lost a bid to operate duty free shops at Sydney Airport.

Lotte was outbid by Germany’s Gebr. Heinemann as Sydney Airport’s new duty free partner, from February 2015 to August 2022.

Heinemann will operate five duty free shops and introduce more than 400 new brands to Sydney Airport.

Lotte said the latest result will not hinder its plan to become the world’s third-largest duty free operator.

“For the time being, we will focus on the Kansai Airport store we just opened while searching for valuable overseas tenders,” a company official said.