Racquet Sports Business ·
Seoul Malls Turn Pickleball Into A Retail Growth Engine
A regulation court inside Lotte World Mall tests whether Asian retailers can convert pickleball participation into repeat visits, lessons and equipment sales.
FILA and Lotte Department Store have put a regulation pickleball court inside Seoul’s Lotte World Mall, turning a retail floor into a live test of whether racquet sports can sell time as well as products. The FILA Pickleball Club, opened this month in Jamsil, occupies about 260 square meters and sits beside Tennis Metro, creating a 750-square-meter racquet-sports zone.
The proposition is deliberately concrete. Visitors can reserve the court through NAVER for 40,000 won on weekdays and 50,000 won on weekends, take one-on-one or two-on-one lessons, and browse 292 products. Paddles and balls from Selkirk and Prince share space with FILA apparel and shoes. Buyers of a paddle receive an introductory lesson or a one-hour court pass, while open play is half price through the end of next month.
That format changes the job of a sports store. Instead of asking shoppers to imagine a product’s use, the venue puts participation, instruction and purchase in one loop. A player can try the sport, meet a coach, buy equipment and return for a booking without leaving the mall. The court is both inventory and marketing, with reservations creating a measurable path from foot traffic to repeat visits.
The strategy is spreading beyond one address. Skechers has added a small pickleball area and paddles to a pop-up at Lotte Mall Eunpyeong. Kwangdong Pharmaceutical is backing the Korea Pickleball Association through its Vita500 brand and will supply drinks to association events through 2027. Lotte says it plans to turn Lotte World Mall into a broader tennis and pickleball hub.
Park Ok-woo, head of the sports division at Lotte Department Store, said the company will make the mall “a racket sports hub where visitors can enjoy both tennis and pickleball.” The remark points to a larger retail thesis: court time can be a community product, while equipment and apparel become the secondary conversion.
For investors and operators, the model is attractive but not automatic. The underwriting case rests on utilization, lesson yield, membership conversion and equipment attachment, not on novelty alone. Operators will need to balance premium mall rents with accessible pricing, then prove that a court produces repeat customers rather than one-time photo opportunities. Asia’s next racquet-sports winners may be the brands that own the customer relationship around play.
The Greatest Good is a retail model that makes sport easier to try, supports healthier routines and creates welcoming communities. That is the standard for Seoul’s pickleball experiment, and for every racquet-sports business pursuing 「至善」. #LITSportsGlobal #TheGreatestGood
中文版
首爾商場把匹克球變成零售增長引擎
FILA與樂天百貨把一個標準匹克球場放進首爾樂天世界購物中心，將零售樓層變成實地測試，看看球拍運動能否同時出售運動時間及產品。位於蠶室的FILA Pickleball Club於本月開幕，面積約260平方米，並與Tennis Metro相鄰，合共形成一個750平方米的球拍運動區。
這個方案十分具體。訪客可透過NAVER預訂場地，平日收費40,000韓圜，週末收費50,000韓圜；亦可參加一對一或二對一課堂，並瀏覽292款產品。Selkirk及Prince的球拍和球，與FILA服裝及鞋履並列。購買球拍可獲入門課堂或一小時場地使用券，而公開場時段在下月底前半價。
這種模式改變了體育店的任務。場館不再要求顧客自行想像產品如何使用，而是把參與、教學及購買放進同一個循環。玩家可以試玩、認識教練、購買裝備，再留在購物中心預約下一場。球場既是可出售的時段，也是市場推廣工具，預訂紀錄更能量度人流轉化為回訪的路徑。
這項策略正超越單一地址。Skechers在樂天百貨恩平店的快閃店加入小型匹克球區、球拍及球品。Kwangdong Pharmaceutical則透過Vita500品牌支持韓國匹克球協會，並承諾至2027年為協會活動供應飲品。樂天表示，計劃把樂天世界購物中心發展為更全面的網球及匹克球中心。
樂天百貨體育部主管Park Ok-woo表示，公司將把購物中心打造成「訪客可以享受網球及匹克球的球拍運動中心」。這句話指向更大的零售命題：場地時間可以成為社群產品，而裝備及服裝則成為第二層轉化。
對投資者及營運商而言，這個模式有吸引力，但並非自然成立。投資模型要依靠使用率、課堂收入、會員轉化及裝備連帶銷售，而不只是新鮮感。營運商要在高級商場租金與可負擔價格之間取得平衡，並證明球場帶來的是重複消費者，而非一次性的打卡場景。亞洲下一批球拍運動贏家，或許會是那些掌握遊玩周邊客戶關係的品牌。
「至善」是讓運動更容易開始、支持更健康的生活習慣，並建立友善社群的零售模式。這是首爾匹克球實驗應追求的標準，也是每一門追求The Greatest Good的球拍運動生意應遵循的標準。#LITSportsGlobal #TheGreatestGood
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