Despite Pledge of "Sound Management," Enex Stumbles into New Year Under Weight of Fine

Heavy Fine Imposed Right After Return to Profitability
Financial Burden Resurfaces
Sales Fall Below 400 Billion Won Mark
After Chairman Park Jingyu’s Succession
Rising Competition Amid Reliance on Domestic and B2B Markets
Strengthening B2C Remains a Key Challenge

Furniture company Enex has started the new year burdened with a fine imposed by the Fair Trade Commission. Although Chairman Park Jingyu has put forward "sound management" and "financial structure stabilization" as the core messages for 2026, the impact of the fine levied at the end of 2025 appears to be dampening the company’s efforts to normalize its operations.

According to industry sources on January 6, the Fair Trade Commission imposed a provisional total fine of 25 billion won on 48 furniture companies on December 29 for collusion in bidding for built-in and system furniture contracts ordered by construction firms. Among these, Enex received the largest fine of 5.8 billion won. This amount exceeds Enex's 2024 operating profit of 5.1 billion won, which marked a return to profitability after five consecutive years of losses from 2019 to 2023. The company’s cumulative fines now total 23.8 billion won, making it the second highest after Hanssem’s 27.6 billion won.

Enex has suffered from prolonged poor performance. Its annual sales fell below the 400 billion won mark in 2019, dropping to 363.6 billion won in 2019, 233.6 billion won in 2020, and 201.7 billion won in 2021, before rebounding to 205.9 billion won in 2022 and 230.6 billion won in 2023. During the same period, the company recorded operating losses for five consecutive years, with cumulative operating losses reaching 54.2 billion won. Notably, this downturn coincided with Chairman Park’s leadership. After founder Park Yoojae stepped down from management in March 2019, Chairman Park’s "second-generation owner system" began, and the poor results became prolonged.

In 2024, Enex finally returned to profitability, recording sales of 264.1 billion won and an operating profit of 5.1 billion won, breaking free from its long-standing slump. Marking the company’s 55th anniversary, Chairman Park emphasized profit-oriented "sound management" and "digital innovation" at the kickoff ceremony held the previous day. For 2026, he outlined key strategic tasks: establishing a stable financial structure by achieving company-wide profitability, building a system to discover and foster new growth businesses, establishing integrated online and offline marketing focused on customer experience, and improving the profit-oriented cost structure.

However, the outlook is not bright. Enex generates 90% of its total sales from the domestic market. In particular, built-in furniture, which is subject to the fine, accounts for 87.5% of sales as of the third quarter last year, and falls under the B2B (business-to-business) segment. There are concerns that the Fair Trade Commission’s sanctions, combined with the economic downturn, could further worsen performance and increase financial burdens in the future.

Additionally, Enex must defend its core B2B market while facing intensifying external competition. The two industry leaders, Hanssem and Hyundai Livart, are strengthening their B2B businesses to offset sluggish B2C (business-to-consumer) performance. Hanssem announced its entry into the office interior and furniture market in May last year and has since been expanding its lineup, while Hyundai Livart is also bolstering its office-based B2B interior business. In contrast, Enex has pursued a strategy of reducing its B2B share and strengthening B2C, but B2C sales remain in the single digits. In the first to third quarters of last year, B2C sales accounted for only 9.7%, 9.4%, and 9.7%, respectively.