Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin said on Jan. 23 at a meeting of the group's CEOs in the first half of 2019, "The change of the future is so big and infinite that we cannot predict its form. Accordingly, the group should thoroughly predict and prepare for the future."
Chairman Shin said, "Each CEO should be able to clearly explain what society will be like in five or 10 years, what kind of role we will play in the society, what specific vision and strategy will be prepared for it, and what strategy we will be dealing with customers, market changes, and competitors."
Stressing investment as a guideline for establishing growth strategies, he said, "The honorary chairman continued investment in businesses when sales are good or bad. Even when the businesses are doing well, we should also make preemptive and continuous investments and should not miss the timing of investment."
Shin explained, "Since Microsoft, which was the epitome of a depressed company, announced its new vision, it has risen to No. 1 in global market capitalization at the end of last year through bold business transformation (BT) and rationalization of sluggish business. We should continue to innovate, look forward to the future, and focus on areas where growth is possible, and conduct a review on rationalization of our business."
The Lotte Group meeting was held in one year since the first half of 2018 with attendance of some 100 CEOs and executives.