Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014
SEOUL, KOREA - The new beer by Lotte Liquor "Kloud" will be introduced on April 22 as scheduled. In consideration of the current event involving the capsized ferry, however, the company will skip showy opening ceremonies and promotions. Already Lotte Liquor has cancelled all launching events slated on the 21st. A Lotte Liquor official said, "We have called off all promotional events for Kloud launch but there is no change in the beginning date for the beer on the 22nd."
Earlier the company announced that it would move into the beer market dominated by two giants Oriental Brewery and Hite-Jinro at the initial cost of 20-30 billion won. Ahead of the summer and the June World Cup games in June, the company was going to hit hard from the beginning with marketing blitz.
Given the current social milieu of collective mourning over the victims of the ferry incident, however, Lotte Liquor decided it would be wise to refrain from doing too much. The same Lotte Liquor official added, "Under the present somber circumstances over the accident, we thought aggressive promotional activities on an alcoholic beverage would be inappropriate."
Consumers will see the Kloud from the 23rd at retail outlets such as Lotte Mart and HomePlus. Convenience stores such as 7Eleven, GS25, and CU will start selling the new beer from the 23rd, 24th, and 28th, respectively. E-Mart has not made public its plan to sell the Kloud as of yet.