Lotte Department Store has demonstrated its global design competitiveness by winning three grand prizes at the iF Design Award 2026. The iF Design Award, which began in 1953, is the world’s oldest and most prestigious design competition. Alongside the United States’ IDEA and Germany’s Red Dot Design Award, it is considered one of the world’s top three design awards. Winners are selected through a comprehensive evaluation of design ideas, form, function, differentiation, and sustainability.

In the Branding & Communication Design category, Lotte department store’s kids-only IP, ‘Kinder Universe,’ received the grand prize. Launched in 2024, ‘Kinder Universe’ is based on the concept of ‘unexpected encounters’ and is characterized by graphics reminiscent of cut-and-paste colored paper and a handwritten-style logo. This design philosophy was applied to the renewal of the kids’ sections at the main and Incheon branches, creating a distinct and differentiated space.

In the Interior Architecture category, the ‘VIP Lounge’ at Lotte Premium Outlet was awarded. The VIP Lounge was designed with inspiration from the symbolic space ‘Wahlheim’ in Goethe’s novel ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther,’ and strengthens the spatial experience by organically connecting the ‘reception,’ reminiscent of a mansion, with a ‘terrace lounge’ that uses natural light. This concept was first applied to the Paju branch in 2024.

Additionally, the ‘webpage’ of the next-generation shopping mall Time Villas won the grand prize at the iF Design Award this year, following its Red Dot Design Award win last year. Time Villas has been recognized for its branding philosophy’, a space where a new time begins’, which has been faithfully translated into the online realm, demonstrating branding competitiveness both online and offline.