Remodeling and interior design in Korea

Remodeling and interior design in Korea

With the growing number of older buildings, the belief is that the remodeling business will grow. Increasing incomes and customization trends support this belief. The Construction Economy Research Institute of Korea (CERIK) reported that the domestic market size of interior and remodeling was KRW 9.1 trillion in 2000 which increased to 28.4 trillion in 2016 and is expected to reach 40 trillion in 2020.

Number of buildings 20 years or older

Unit: 1,000

2017	2018	2019	2020	2025	2030
3,381	3,592	4,091	4,886	5,895	7,642

Source: Shinyoung Securities Co., Ltd.

As much as the industry is growing, the number of competitors is also. As the market reached KRW 20 trillion, the number of new companies has increased rapidly. Moreover, there has been a movement in retail companies to enter the interior and remodeling business. However, as the competition grows, market development will weaken as Koreans can be critically sensitive to price.

The current market is consolidating with companies merging with large conglomerates to survive. These conglomerates are merging all types of companies such as furniture, remodeling, flooring, and other companies to create a ‘Total Living-Interior Solutions’ as a new business model. 

If you would like to identify and capitalize on business opportunities in Korea, let IRC Guide your Way!  www.ircconsultingkorea.com, Jacob at lsh@ircconsultingkorea.com

Home Table Deco Fair 2019 – Premium Home Styling Exhibition

Home Table Deco Fair 2019 – Premium Home Styling Exhibition

December 12^th to 15^th, 2019

Location of event: Korea Seoul COEX

Exhibits: Home living & deco, kitchen & tableware, Anniversary, lifestyle & culture, home appliances

Official website http://www.hometabledeco.com/main/main.php

Organized by the Reed K. Fairs Ltd. the exhibition provided the latest premium home styling trends with over 200,000 visitors at all four exhibitions across Korea, Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Jeju. Attracting the greatest number of professionals, the show is known to be effective in both B2B and B2C.  

Exhibition Overview

The opening of the Home Table Deco Fair 2019 was quite crowded even after lunch hours. As mentioned above, the exhibition was attracting the business sector and also consumers.

The show was divided into two halls and sections. Hall C was focused on home decoration which includes paints, art, kitchenware, furniture, pottery and all different products. Hall D was focused more on interior design which provided not only various interior design concepts but also a better taste to the products which were included in the design.

Personally, Hall D which had quality designed booths with style was more interesting. As most of the booths were designed by interior designers, they stood out compared to other exhibitions in Korea.    

The HTDF also had a collaboration event called the Creator’s Hotel with a Korean online accommodation service (platform) company Yanolja. This event was a large promotion of Yanolja’s services, opportunities and partnered designers.

However, compared to Hall D, Hall C visitors showed more interested in the products. As much as the theme was decoration, it would be hard to categorize products by industry sectors.

  

With the HTDF subtitle as Premium Home Styling Exhibition, Hall C was full of interesting luxury products luring people to the displays. Given the diverse products, it would be difficult to categorize the industry that includes pottery, kitchenware, furniture and arts.

One of the most interesting booths provided a rental system for art. The service provides different types of paintings that match the interior of the house.

Overall the exhibition targets were willing to spend extra on design and appearance usually with more wealth or people who were in the industry. Hall D’s visitors seemed to be more B2B whereas Hall C was more focused on consumer-based visitors.

An interesting part of the home decoration market is the interior and remodeling sectors. For more information regarding the remodeling and interior sector please click here. 

If you would like to identify and capitalize on business opportunities in Korea, let IRC Guide your Way!  www.ircconsultingkorea.com, Jacob at lsh@ircconsultingkorea.com