South Korean retail group Lotte Shopping will sell off 121 stores this year in an attempt to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on sales.

The company says it will close five department stores, 16 discount stores, 75 supermarkets and 25 physical stores linked to its online mall LOHB within this year.

The move accelerates Lotte’s existing plans to sell roughly 200 stores to refocus on e-commerce.

A spokesperson from the firm indicated Lotte would move to quickly shake off its less-profitable assets in the interests of improving its financial health. Lotte Shopping’s first-quarter results, at a loss of US$35 million, represented a massive drop from the $88.2 million profit it achieved during the same period last year.

Lotte Shopping has around 700 department stores, discount stores and supermarkets.