Product Placement Focused on Items Hard to Find in Regular Stores
Strategy to Increase Consumer Engagement Through Experiential Approach
The furniture industry is expanding specialized stores that can enhance the 'consumer experience.' The strategy is to target specific generations and arrange products that are difficult to encounter in regular stores to open consumers' wallets.
Shinsegae Casa announced on the 3rd that it has opened five independent stores of the sleep-specialized brand 'Materasso' this year. After launching the first store at Shinsegae Department Store Gyeonggi Branch in October last year, stores were also established this year at Shinsegae Main Branch and Shinsegae Gangnam Branch. The Materasso stores were created as spaces to differentiate from other comprehensive furniture companies as a sleep-specialized brand. In particular, to meet the demand for premium beds and mattresses, customized beds such as the 'Materasso Atelier Collection' and 'Materasso Forest Collection' were arranged. Natural materials, springs, foam, latex, wool, and other internal layers applied to beds and mattresses were displayed so that customers could visually inspect them. Sales have also been positive. Excluding the Masan store, which opened in October, the sales of five stores in the third quarter of this year increased by about 10% compared to the second quarter.
Ace Bed operates 54 Ace Square specialized stores nationwide with the concept of 'premium,' 'large-scale,' and 'experience.' This year alone, eight new stores have opened in places such as Dong-gu, Daejeon; Wonju, Gangwon; and Cheongdam, Seoul. The Wonju store is approximately 790㎡ in size and five floors above ground. At Ace Square, customers can find hotel-style bed frames, the top mattress brand 'Ace Heritz,' and the premium mattress lineup 'Royal Ace.' Each floor features showrooms applying the latest interior trends, and experience zones where lighting brightness can be adjusted to match actual bedrooms. Bed experts residing in the stores also provide curation services.
Hanssem has been operating 'Hanssem Kids,' a specialized store for children's room furniture, at Time Villas Suwon Branch since this year. Hanssem Kids, unique to this location, is a space that exclusively displays and exposes Hanssem's children's furniture. Sales staff with high related sales are assigned to provide professional furniture consultations. Customers can directly see and experience key kids' lines such as the Sam Kids High Guard Daybed and Joy S Desk. The main target is people in their 30s and 40s with infants or elementary school children.
This movement is analyzed as an effort to increase contact points with consumers centered on experience. An industry official said, "Specialized stores play a role in promoting brand awareness and expertise through the advancement of consumer experience," adding, "By analyzing consumer distribution, mobility, and accessibility, when specialized stores newly enter representative local commercial districts, sales increase effects can be expected, so it is likely to expand further in the future."
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