Sonokong, a company specializing in toys, has secured a large amount of capital by selling its headquarters building in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. The company is now embarking on an aggressive transformation, positioning IP (intellectual property) and used car and rental car businesses as new growth engines. The funds secured through this sale are expected to serve as a financial foundation for expanding its core businesses.
On August 29, Sonokong announced that it had signed a contract to sell its Bucheon headquarters for 34 billion won. After raising 33 billion won in investment in June, the company has now secured additional funds. Aside from the 19 billion won used for the purchase of its new headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul in May, Sonokong plans to use approximately 20 billion won to restructure its business portfolio and improve its financial structure, shifting focus from toys to IP characters (such as Labubu), Nintendo Switch 2, and used car and rental car businesses.
Sonokong also revealed that it has established Sonokong JAPAN, a local Japanese corporation, in the form of a joint venture (JV). This entity will serve as a bridgehead for acquiring character IP in Japan and exporting Korean IP. In addition to its traditional children's toy business, the company has recently started distributing the character 'Labubu'-which stimulates the collecting desires of Millennials & Gen Z-by operating Pop Mart Robo Shop, thereby expanding its consumer base to a wider range of age groups.
A company representative stated, "The character market, which was once limited to children, is rapidly expanding to Millennials & Gen Z," and added, "We plan to leverage our strengths in offline distribution to discover characters with unique worldviews." Through these efforts, the company aims to import popular Japanese IP into Korea and export Korean IP abroad.
Furthermore, Sonokong is accelerating its entry into the automobile distribution business, a new initiative led by the company's new management. The company will directly operate the used car business at its headquarters and pursue the rental car business through its subsidiaries, seeking to secure new revenue streams. In particular, by acquiring the consignment operation rights for Seoseoul Motorium, operated by Seoseoul Development, Sonokong has established a stronghold for offline sales. Seoseoul Motorium is one of the largest automobile shopping malls in Korea, with a total floor area of 74,049 square meters and facilities to park approximately 5,000 used cars.
Sonokong plans to set up a used car showroom on the first floor of Seoseoul Motorium to strengthen the 'Sonokong Used Cars' brand. The company will introduce the certified used car business model of existing imported car brands, and aims to expand nationwide, making the used car and rental car businesses core growth pillars for Sonokong.
A company representative said, "Chairman Kim Deukmyung has deep insights into the automobile market, having introduced the first certified used car system in Korea," and added, "The profit margin for the used car business is around 5-10%, and through the consignment management of Seoseoul Motorium, we are seeking opportunities to collaborate with used car complexes in other regions." The representative continued, "We will enhance our business competitiveness through synergies with other subsidiaries such as Seoseoul Development and Son Investment."
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