Offline 'Saenghwal' Online 'Junior'
Two-Track Operation by Increasing Adult Products
Continued Expansion of Various Channels
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] "Ten years ago, ordering furniture online was unimaginable. But now, online purchasing is the trend. Woodpia is also undergoing structural improvements to adapt to the changing market conditions."
Kwon Taeyong, CEO of Woodpia, a solid wood furniture brand, stated, "The development of the e-commerce market centered on online platforms has been greatly accelerated by COVID-19," adding, "We are improving the structure of furniture, which was mainly sold offline, to sell well online as well."
Furniture is one of the major items traded offline. However, a few years ago, when the large Swedish furniture brand IKEA entered the domestic market, an online purchasing environment was established. Furniture began to be sold in a way that it was disassembled into smaller units, packaged, and customers only needed to assemble it upon receipt. Woodpia operates on a two-track system with both offline and online sales channels. To this end, they expanded their product line from junior furniture to adult (living) furniture. Offline focuses on living furniture, while online mainly sells junior furniture.
Woodpia uses high-quality solid wood and manufactures its products domestically. Both material and quality control are managed at the headquarters to maintain consistent product quality. In particular, most of the wood used by Woodpia is rubberwood, which is hard and durable. It is characterized by a strong surface that is resistant to scratches. Additionally, it has a lower moisture penetration rate compared to other woods and is resistant to humidity, resulting in less warping.
Recently, Woodpia introduced simple and clean new products reflecting minimalism in design. To enhance completeness even in unseen areas, the use of nails and pins was minimized. For this, they use a joinery technique, assembling by fitting grooves made in the wood, which takes twice as long as conventional furniture manufacturing methods.
Woodpia launched an innovative product that can be used in multiple ways according to the growth of juniors. The Oz bed can be used as a bunk bed during infancy and later separated into single beds when personal space is needed as the child grows. This is practical as it reduces the hassle and expenses of replacing furniture every time the child grows. The Father Mom series has been a long-selling bestseller for over 10 years and was the first junior line in the furniture industry to apply rubberwood.
Woodpia plans to focus on the domestic business for the time being and balance online and offline channels. CEO Kwon said, "The furniture industry is currently in a transitional phase from offline to online," adding, "We plan to continuously introduce products that balance online and offline and create synergy across various channels."
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