Fashion and lifestyle platform 29CM, operated by Musinsa, is rapidly expanding transaction volume for its furniture vertical, 29CM HOME, known as Igu Home, strengthening its presence in the industry despite a broader slowdown across the furniture sector. As its expansion strategy spanning online and offline delivers results, some say its home and living business is emerging as 29CM's new growth pillar after fashion.
However, with Ohouse, a leading player in the sector, and W Concept of Shinsegae Group both accelerating their push into home and living, the competitive landscape around Igu Home is expected to intensify.
According to 29CM on the 9th, Igu Home's transaction volume in January–February this year rose more than 30% from a year earlier. March transaction volume jumped 101% year over year as demand for moving and newlywed purchases concentrated. As of the first quarter, the number of Igu Home customers doubled from two years ago, when the platform launched.
This growth contrasts with the slowdown in the furniture and interior market. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released early this month, total online shopping transaction volume was 22.5974 trillion won, up 5.9% from a year earlier, while online furniture transaction volume was 486.3 billion won, down 7.2%. It is seen as the combined effect of a slowdown in dwellings transactions, weaker moving demand, and deteriorating consumer sentiment.
Despite the market slowdown, 29CM's signature curation strategy is cited as the driver of Igu Home's continued growth. From the outset, Igu Home has expanded categories while maintaining a selective onboarding model focused on overseas premium design furniture and domestic designer brands. It emphasized brand identity, spatial context, and taste proposals over price competition.
Recently, as the platform's influence has grown, the onboarding of domestic furniture brands has also accelerated. Igu Home has secured all major domestic furniture companies as partners, including Fursys Group's Alloso and Iloom, Shinsegae Casa's Casamia, and Hanssem. As of the end of last year, the number of major domestic furniture brands onboarded to Igu Home increased more than eightfold compared with 2023.
Igu Home is also pursuing an O4O (Online for Offline) strategy, moving brands that have proven traction online into key offline commercial districts to broaden customer touchpoints. Its first offline store, "Igu Home Seongsu," surpassed a cumulative 620,000 visitors six months after opening in June last year. More than 80% of all visitors were in their 20s and 30s. Igu Home is currently expanding its offline foothold by sequentially opening The Hyundai Seoul location and Igu Home Seongsu No. 2.
Buoyed by Igu Home's growth, 29CM's overall scale is also expanding. As of Oct. last year, 29CM's annual transaction volume surpassed 1 trillion won, reaching the 1 trillion won mark one month earlier than the previous year. Over the past four years, the average annual growth rate of transaction volume has reached 40%.
◇ After fashion, nurturing home and living… Sustained growth amid intensifying competition is the task
This year, 29CM plans to cultivate Igu Home as a core growth pillar alongside women's fashion and to strengthen an integrated business strategy linking online and offline. It aims to broaden demand from one- and two-person households active in home styling, newlyweds who prefer refined interiors, and highly engaged customers in their 40s and older.
However, a key challenge is whether Igu Home can sustain its growth trajectory over the long term amid intensifying competition among home and living platforms. While Igu Home has shown strengths in brand curation and offline select-shop experiences, it is still seen as having room for improvement in terms of service scope and broad-based scale expansion.
Ohouse, considered a formidable competitor, has greatly expanded its reach into a comprehensive home platform that now spans interior construction, moving, cleaning, and installation services, built on content and community.
W Concept of Shinsegae Group is also speeding up its push to strengthen home and living. Last month, W Concept onboarded Shinsegae Casa's lifestyle brand JAJU and began category expansion by introducing some 3,000 items across home, fabrics, and kitchenware.
A 29CM official said, "There is clearly customer demand willing to spend boldly if a brand matches their taste," adding, "We will continue to connect discerning brands with customers through Igu Home and strengthen a differentiated shopping experience that spans online and offline."