A view of the Frieze Seoul 2025 fair held last year at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul [Lotte Department Store]
A view of the Frieze Seoul 2025 fair held last year at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul [Lotte Department Store]

Lotte Department Store is reviving a private event for VIP customers that gives them early purchase access to works shown at Frieze Seoul, the world-class art fair, for the first time in three years. The retailer aims to deepen loyalty among its top-tier shoppers — whose contribution to overall sales continues to grow — by offering services tailored to their tastes.

Lotte will hold an “Avenuel Art Week” for customers in its Avenuel VIP tier in conjunction with Frieze Seoul, which runs Sept. 2–5 at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, according to department store industry sources Wednesday. Frieze Seoul draws more than 120 galleries from 30 countries, making it one of the world‘s premier art fairs.

Ahead of the fair‘s opening, Lotte plans to hold a “pre-sales session” on Wednesday, Aug. 26, for its top Avenuel members, offering curated previews of key works and the chance to purchase them before the public. Purchases made at the session will also count toward the sales threshold used to determine a customer’s Avenuel membership rating — a benefit being offered for the first time. A pre-sales session was held once before, in 2023, but without the rating-credit perk.

On Sept. 2, the opening day of Frieze Seoul, Lotte will offer a private docent tour for a select group of Avenuel members. Customers who register for the program will also have access to the Frieze VIP Lounge and be able to enter the fair freely throughout the event.

Registration for the Frieze Seoul-linked events opened Wednesday and closed early after applications poured in. Final sign-ups exceeded the available spots by more than ninefold, a company official said. “It proved the high level of interest and enthusiasm for the event,” the official added.

Lotte‘s push to expand its Frieze Seoul programming appears aimed at strengthening loyalty among art-minded VIP customers. Shinsegae Department Store has also decided to join as a headline partner of Frieze Seoul this year for the first time, as part of its own effort to broaden customer experience. At Lotte, Avenuel members’ share of total sales has grown from 41 percent in 2023 to 45 percent in the first half of this year.

Leading department stores abroad have long offered VIP customers early entry and pre-purchase access at major art fairs to lock in their loyalty. Harrods in London — the world‘s top-grossing department store — gives VIP members early viewing access and VIP lounge privileges tied to Frieze London and Art Basel. Galeries Lafayette in Paris similarly offers its top customers private docent tours and early acquisition opportunities at Art Basel Paris.

Lotte has been stepping up collaborations with outside arts institutions and galleries for its Avenuel members this year. In June, it invited Avenuel customers to the newly opened Centre Pompidou Hanwha for a private docent program. The retailer also overhauled its existing Avenuel Points system into a new “Avenuel Curation” program earlier this year, strengthening experience-based VIP services. Members can use tier-based points at more than 100 partner venues across six categories — including luxury hotels, fine dining, golf and leisure — to access high-end lifestyle content.

“As interest in and demand for differentiated premium content continues to grow among our Avenuel customers, we plan to keep expanding experience-based benefits that reflect their tastes and lifestyles,” a Lotte Department Store official said.


spa@heraldcorp.com