The Lotte Department Store in Sogong-dong, downtown Seoul, opened seven dessert stores in its underground mall Tuesday. Recently opened are Junior’s, a famous cheesecake store from New York; 40192 Roll offering handmade, premium roll cake; Cheesecake Factory; Shall We, which serves tarts; HUE with enzyme-inspired sweets; chocolate boutique Jay Brown; and British brand BUISCONE, serving both biscuits and scones.

The department store has decided to strengthen its dessert section after seeing brands like Softlee and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory posting monthly sales of more than 100 million won in 2013.

“Dessert has become part of a regular meal, and high calorie desserts have especially become popular based on the belief that they ease stress,” a Lotte spokesman said.

(baejisook@heraldcorp.com)