By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

For the country's retail arch-rivals Lotte and Shinsegae, competition now goes beyond their traditional battleground ― it's not just about who sells better, but who gives away better.

The top-two department store and hypermarket chain operators have each come up with luxurious raffle prizes to win over shoppers' hearts on the occasion of their anniversaries, which both fall in November.

So what's up for grabs? A 580-million-won ($490,000) apartment, a space tour, trips to the north and south poles, 100-million-won shopping sprees, roundtrip tickets to Europe and more.

Lotte began by putting a 158-square-meter Lotte Castle apartment in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, worth nearly 600 million won, up for raffle.

The promotion instantly sparked competition, drawing more than 2 million applicants so far.

Then the retailer offered 100-million-won shopping sprees for two, 30-million-won shopping sprees for three, and a seven-day roundtrip ticket to Germany for four.

Lotte continued by introducing its prize highlights: a free space tour and trips to the north and south poles.

The three-hour spaceship ride is valued at 350 million won, while the trips to the north and south poles cost more than 100 million won, according to the retailer.

``Lotte is offering mega gifts this year not only to celebrate its 30th year anniversary, but also to set the tone against its competitor Shinsegae,'' said an industry official, who added that the quality of the raffle prizes sends a strong message to consumers.

Shinsegae, which typically hasn't lured shoppers with flashy prizes, took a different strategy this year by trying to front gifts that are up to the standard set by its biggest rival.

It is currently drawing shoppers by raffling off shopping sprees collectively worth 10 billion won.

Ten applicants will win 5 million won, 20 will receive 1 million won, 100 will pick up 100,000 won, and 1,000 will get 10,000 won, according to company officials.

``Shinsegae is going for quantity by giving away more, while Lotte is going for quality by giving away better,'' said another industry executive.

She explained that the retailers' competition over raffle prizes this year was unprecedented as the companies tried to open shoppers' wallets amid the economic downturn.

``The retailers' objective is to bring more consumers to walk through their door,'' she said, adding that the turnout so far shows that the raffle prizes did the trick in enticing skittish shoppers.

jhan@koreatimes.co.kr