IKEA opens first korean branch; local retailers are concerned

[plush-cthulhu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8OJ4cvkq8A

 

 

 

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/12/18/ikeas-arrival-in-south-korea-worries-some-local-furniture-retailers/
 

Park In-gook sits on a beige sofa, surrounded by tables, beds and wardrobes for sale at his sprawling showroom. For 40-years he’s worked in the Seoul shopping district called the Ahyeon furniture street, home to over 100 small businesses that all offer similar looking products at about the same price.

“At the end of the Korean War, Ahyeon became one of the first places to buy furniture in Seoul,†the 71-year old says. “But we’ve seen better days.â€

Ahyeon, like the dozens of other neighborhoods that specialize in household goods have weathered the rise of online shopping and the spread of discount retailers. But some are worried that the arrival of IKEA could take a heavy toll on these mom and pop furniture stores.

The iconic Swedish furniture maker opens its first South Korean store—its biggest anywhere–on Thursday in Gwanmyeong, a suburb of Seoul.

 

Lee Yong-won, secretary general of the Korea Furniture Association, says that small local retailers, which account for 90% of furniture sellers nationwide, will “face a crisisâ€.

“And if IKEA does open second and third branches in Korea, the whole domestic furniture industry will be threatened,†he says.

Domestic furniture makers fought in vain since 2011 to block IKEA from entering the Korean market.

Now that it’s here, Mr. Lee says it can be a learning moment for the local industry on how to develop its own competitive brands.

“We need to work on new designs; they should be more delicate and decorative and move away from just copying similar styles,†he says.

Yoon Sung-ho, who teaches interior design at Seoul’s Gookmin University, explains that IKEA’s potential success will say as much about Koreans’ desire for different styles as it will about the country’s shifting family structure.

Furniture is traditionally bought by the bride’s family after weddings, he explains. But now “parents aren’t spending as much on their kids and the younger generation doesn’t want to pay that much for furniture,†he says.

 

On top of that, government statistics show that a quarter of South Korea’s 20-million households are single occupancy homes. That’s up from 15.5% in 2000 and 9% a decade earlier.

Mr. Yoon isn’t so optimistic about the chances of survival for South Korea’s small furniture sellers.

“They’ll either have to shift to the low-end or high-end market,†because IKEA will dominate the middle, he says.

Park In-gook says that some of his colleagues on the Ahyeon furniture street might be worried about the opening of IKEA, but he shrugs off their concerns. Mr. Park says his advantage is that he knows what his customers want.

“IKEA just doesn’t match Koreans’ style or taste,†he says. â€œI am very confident that IKEA won’t succeed here.â€

 

 

[Messica]

Well local retailers better get competitive.

[Klover12]

I love IKEA but the furniture really begins to show its cheapness.

[asdhyo]

I like to be in ikea store...thats all.

[TheGuidance]

Best home furnishing! And their cafeteria services very delicious foods!

[Thay]

That is always a difficult decision for the government — whether to be protective to the local business or not. On one hand, it is said in the news that all the small businesses have similar products, so maybe this will be a chance for the local market to reinvent itself, think of new products and invest on new technologies — get more competitive, basically. I think there may be a period of crisis for them, but once they can step up their game I believe there will be a balance. Afterall, although Ikea is nice, some people do prefer more traditional furniture. Besides, as Park Ingook said, local sellers know better the Korean taste.

 

I like Ikea's products though   I think it's pretty affordable and the quality is ok for the price.

[Dokomademo]

IKEA are usually great at adapting to countries tho, I believe that's one of the reasons to why they could keep up their global success.

[Milena96]

Healthy competition isn't a bad thing.

[Milena96]

That is always a difficult decision for the government — whether to be protective to the local business or not. On one hand, it is said in the news that all the small businesses have similar products, so maybe this will be a chance for the local market to reinvent itself, think of new products and invest on new technologies — get more competitive, basically. I think there may be a period of crisis for them, but once they can step up their game I believe there will be a balance. Afterall, although Ikea is nice, some people do prefer more traditional furniture. Besides, as Park Ingook said, local sellers know better the Korean taste.

 

I like Ikea's products though   I think it's pretty affordable and the quality is ok for the price.

[Rosetty]

I like their food.

 

Cheap products nice tho

[Meth Krystal]

IKEA IS THE SHIT 

[plur]

i lurveeeee ikea.

[chichibio]

I love their food. I go there sometimes just to eat loland daydream about how I would decorate my own flat once I move out and earn moar ca$h.

[JaynaeNicole]

Best home furnishing! And their cafeteria services very delicious foods!

i just found out this year that ikea serves food there...

[TheGuidance]

i just found out this year that ikea serves food there...

It's 2 been years actually. Their Sweden meatballs are the best!

[JaynaeNicole]

It's 2 been years actually. Their Sweden meatballs are the best!

my coworkers were talking about it and i first i thought it was a restaurant called ikea..but spelled differently. till they told me it was the actual furniture store IKEA that has a cafeteria...if i would've known that before..I'd would've have been at that cafeteria a lot when i used to live down the street from IKEA lol

[✴✧SeoulYoon✧✴]

I only go to IKEA for the food.

[Your Juan and only]

The worst thing about IKEA is the instructions but I love Ikea

[mgl]

IKEA is awesome and I love assembling their stuff. 

I do dislike that you are forced to go through the whole store just to get something lol.

[lepidoptery]

I love ikea and I love being funneled through the store to look at things I've probably seen a billion times before already~

 

And I try not to eat much there (there are better things to eat for the number I should consume) but princess cake is so darling~

 

Although it's actually been a while since I've bought any large-ticket items from ikea.  I actually get most of my ikea via craigslist, including sofabed, bedframe, couch, armchair, bookshelves, the entire bedroom set for my room at my mom's house... there used to be more but I've re-sold them in the process of paring down.  Things I actually still have and bought new from ikea are like bedlinen, hanging closet organizers, a stepstool, and a bunch of dishes/pasta bowls (skyn <3).

 

Anyway, I'm curious to see what these furniture store clones carry.  Sound potentially boring.

[imideal( ͡°ᴥ ͡° ʋ)]

love ikea, but it takes business away from local furniture shops 

[Feelbro]

The Walmart of furniture stores.

[My Ship is Black Pearl]

I go to ikea for the meatball only.

[Miyami]

I dislike it greatly. The food is utterly terrible by the way, or maybe that just at my location? Also quite expensive.

 

The product quality is pretty bad. some furniture is reasonably priced but it shows in quality.. the wood and plastic is so thin.. if you drill one wrong hole, its basically useless. That's why most of the stuff is 'plug' only. I don't know, I really don't like their bussiness.

[Feelbro]

Go to the lumber yard, get lumber and make your own furniture. You'll save loads.