Ohaim INT "We charge for quality, but not for value"

The view of Lady Furniture Pangyo Showroom.
[Photo by Ohaim INT]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] "We charge for the quality, but not for the value."

This is the slogan of Ohheim INT Co., Ltd. (hereafter Ohheim), an online furniture specialist company. Ohheim manages furniture brands such as Lady Furniture, Aidenyu, and For the Home. Sangil Libe Furniture, Gyusubang, and Iron are operated as licensed brands. Ohheim entered the furniture industry in 2009 by acting as an online sales agent for Sangil Libe Furniture and Raja Furniture. Innocent, Gyusubang, Casamia, Lady Furniture, Jangin Furniture, and Livart also went through Ohheim to be sold online.

In December 2015, the management rights were acquired by the domestic private equity fund IMM Design Venture Fund, and the following year, Ohheim expanded its territory in the online furniture market by acquiring Lady Furniture. On July last year, it launched the brand 'Aidenyu' targeting single-person households, and in March this year, it launched 'For the Home' consecutively.

Last year, sales reached 56.3 billion KRW, and operating profit was 2.2 billion KRW, growing 14% and 20% respectively compared to the previous year. The main brand Lady Furniture accounts for about 60% of total sales. Ohheim's sales target for this year is 80 billion KRW. Despite the COVID-19 situation, first-quarter sales recorded 16.6 billion KRW, a 23% increase compared to the same period last year, showing an upward trend.

Ohheim CEO Seo Jeong-il said, "Large brands have good quality but are too expensive, and online specialized companies have low prices but uncertain quality, but Ohheim is competitive because it is affordable and has good quality."

Ohheim does not have its own furniture factory. It produces and manufactures furniture by outsourcing to domestic or overseas furniture factories. Ohheim plans and develops products, outsources production to domestic factories, and receives commissions by selling the produced furniture. In overseas cases, furniture is imported and sold either through agencies or direct contracts. Recently, direct production orders are also placed with overseas factories. Operating without factories or offline stores has significantly lowered production costs, which is the secret to offering products at half the price of large brands. The Lady Furniture showroom in Pangyo is Ohheim's only offline space.

The biggest drawback of online furniture orders, 'slow delivery,' has also been recently resolved. Ohheim formed a strategic partnership with CJ Logistics, reducing delivery times to 3-4 days and finding solutions for compensation issues related to furniture damaged during delivery.

Ohheim is pursuing a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) merger listing. Since the absorption merger with Samsung Must SPAC 3 Fund was decided last April, a suitability review is currently underway. The company expects the listing to proceed smoothly next month.