[Distribution Hot People] "The Secret to Shinsegae Gangnam's No.1: Genuine Hotel Bedding"

'Hotel Gguljam' Commercializes Good Experiences, 2nd Year Consecutive Sales No.1
Secret to Becoming 'Gangnam Ibul' Without Promotion or Discounts, Word of Mouth
"Will Sell Experiences Across the Entire Lifestyle"

There is a bedding brand that has maintained its number one position as soon as it opened an official store at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam, the top-selling department store in Korea. The protagonist is 'The Josun Hotel,' a retail brand launched by Chosun Hotel & Resort. Nam Hyun-soo, MD of the retail team in charge of the brand business at Chosun Hotel & Resort, cited "word of mouth" as the secret to quickly capturing the Gangnam VIP market.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 17th, Nam said, "Despite adhering to a no-sale policy and not engaging in special promotions, customers who made a purchase introduced the brand to their friends, and those friends brought acquaintances, creating a word-of-mouth effect that significantly boosted sales." He explained, "The repurchase rate reaches 50%, and over 30% of customers come through personal referrals."

Nam Hyun-su, Head of MD Part, Retail Team, Brand Business, Chosun Hotel & Resort.

The Josun Hotel bedding first debuted as a pop-up store in April 2016, coinciding with the renewal of Shinsegae Gangnam. Thanks to explosive customer response with double-digit annual sales growth, it was converted into an official store in August 2020 and is currently operating on the 9th floor. Since then, it has maintained the number one position in bedding sales in 2021 and 2022.

More than 80% of the bedding sold at The Josun Hotel is white. The bedding is characterized by minimal patterns and luxurious details on a white base. The bestseller is the Baroque line, which features embroidery on a white base. Existing bedding brands emphasized strong colors and designs, with prices fluctuating significantly depending on sales. As consumers seeking modern interiors increased their demand for hotel-style bedding, and more consumers wanted to purchase properly made hotel bedding, customers seeking The Josun Hotel bedding grew so much that popular products, priced at an average of 2 million KRW per set, could not be purchased without reservations for the season.

Nam said, "The representative product, Hungarian goose down, is labeled as 90:10 down to feather ratio according to domestic notation, but in reality, it is 93:7, with a higher proportion of down." He added, "Considering the frequent washing required for hotel bedding, it is specialized in three-dimensional sewing to prevent feather loss and clumping." The fill power, which indicates resilience to compression and recovery, is set above 800, and although the fabric is 100% cotton and 60-count, it uses a satin weave instead of plain weave to provide a softer touch.

The spread of the 'hokangseu' (hotel + vacation) trend fueled sales growth. Nam said, "During the COVID-19 situation, the number of domestic hokangseu customers surged, and their desire to experience the 'sweet sleep at that hotel' at home increased significantly, leading to a sharp rise in demand for The Josun Hotel bedding." He added, "At Shinsegae Gangnam, customers in their 20s account for more than 40%." The hotel rooms served as a showcase. Supported by sales at Shinsegae Gangnam, The Josun Hotel currently operates five directly managed stores, including Shinsegae Gwangju, Gyeonggi, Centum City, and Daegu branches.

The fact that a partner with 20 years of experience in room maintenance at The Westin Josun Seoul shared tips on properly arranging bedding with customers also contributed to expanding word-of-mouth customers. A differentiated point was the service where staff personally visit VIP customers' homes to help them arrange their bedding with the same 'sharpness' as hotel bedding.

Nam, who joined Chosun Hotel & Resort in 1999, is an all-around hotelier who has worked in the room team, marketing team, HR & education team, and retail team. Nam's next goal is to extend the satisfaction that The Josun Hotel bedding provides to customers across lifestyle products. He emphasized, "I take great pride in connecting hotel products to customers' homes so they can continue to experience the happiness they felt then," adding, "We will expand the product range beyond bedding to various furniture and interior products so that customers can relive the good experiences of the hotel even at home."