'Pop Casual' Furniture Followed by Launch of 'WE-TRO' Collection Featuring Bold Colors and Unique Designs
Hyundai Livart has launched the 'WE-TRO' collection, featuring bold and original designs. [Photo by Hyundai Livart]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Hyundai Livart, a total interior company affiliated with Hyundai Department Store Group, is accelerating the differentiation of furniture product designs. To enhance design competitiveness, they are increasing product development personnel and, for the first time in the furniture industry, introducing a 'Fast Track' system to shorten furniture production periods.
On the 16th, Hyundai Livart announced the launch of the 'WE-TRO' collection, which differentiates design by using primary colors such as red and blue and combining various materials like metal and fabric.
The WE-TRO collection consists of a total of 23 items including bed sofas, beds, desks, and storage cabinets, divided into the 'WE-TRO Red Edition (13 types)' which boldly uses primary colors that have been taboo as main colors in the domestic furniture industry, the 'WE-TRO Black Edition (6 types)' which combines achromatic colors like white and black with fashion design, and the 'WE-TRO Comma Edition (4 types)' emphasizing a neat yet comfortable feel.
Notably, the products introduced this time are mainly targeted at millennial single or two-person households living in studio apartments sized 24~33㎡ (8~10 pyeong). The designs reflect the lifestyle of millennials who study or work on their beds or consider their homes as spaces for healing.
Representative products include the 'Retro Bed,' which features mattress patterns and a bed head part that can be used as a small desk; the 'Comma Pet Storage Cabinet,' equipped with a cat house and scratcher (a toy for cats to scratch their claws); the 'Black Wine Storage Cabinet,' which incorporates a houndstooth check pattern mainly used in women's clothing and combines a wine rack; and the 'Rigo Single Sofa,' made using recycled fibers.
A Hyundai Livart official said, "The WE-TRO collection was created with the intention of presenting designs not previously attempted in the domestic furniture industry," adding, "To perfectly realize the initially planned design concept, prototypes, which are usually produced 1~2 times, were produced more than four times."
Earlier, in September, Hyundai Livart introduced a 'Pop Casual Furniture' collection of 16 items that boldly combined various artistic techniques used in pop art, watercolor, and oil painting with heterogeneous materials and colors in furniture design.
Hyundai Livart's move to differentiate design comes as demand for premium living has surged due to increased time spent at home caused by the 52-hour workweek system and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, overseas luxury furniture brands such as Italy's Cassina and Poliform, which have entered the domestic furniture market, are expanding their stores, raising consumer expectations.
A company representative stated, "Previously, we offered products with simple designs that did not cause strong likes or dislikes, but going forward, we will prioritize designers' opinions in product development like fashion companies to differentiate product designs," adding, "As this is the first attempt by a major domestic furniture brand, we have increased product development costs by 3 to 4 times compared to before and removed sales targets for new products."
To further enhance design competitiveness, Hyundai Livart has increased the number of development personnel dedicated to design and product planning by about 30% compared to last year. They also introduced the 'Fast Track' system, the first in the furniture industry, to reduce product development time to three months to quickly reflect rapidly changing lifestyle trends in product design. Previously, it took more than eight months from product design to launch. The first product applying the Fast Track system is expected to be released as early as the end of this month.
In addition, Hyundai Livart plans to establish the 'Livart CMF Library (tentative name)' in the first half of next year, which will professionally research core design elements such as color, material, and finish. They are also considering relocating the sample room and prototype evaluation hall currently located at the Yongin factory in Gyeonggi Province to Seoul to improve designers' working environments.
Um Ik-su, Executive Director of Hyundai Livart's Living Business Division, said, "Next year, we plan to introduce design-specialized products in collaboration with global furniture designers who are highly regarded overseas," adding, "We will continue to release products applying original designs at the level of overseas luxury furniture to lead domestic furniture design trends."
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