Musinsa's fashion and lifestyle platform 29CM is pushing offline expansion by opening a new store for its home and living specialty select shop "29HOME" near Seoul Forest. As 29CM moves in earnest to cultivate home and living as its next growth pillar following fashion, competition with on- and offline interior channels, including Ohouse, is expected to intensify.
According to the industry on the 15th, 29CM will open "29HOME Seoul Forest" near Atelier-gil in Seoul Forest, Seongdong District, in August. The new store will be created in a standalone building with four above-ground floors purchased by 29CM. While the existing Seongsu-area 29HOME Stores No. 1 and No. 2 used portions of buildings, the Seoul Forest location will occupy the entire building. Based on this, the company plans to strengthen stay-type content and reorganize core categories such as kitchen and household goods and pet supplies to fit the characteristics of the Seoul Forest commercial area.
Since last year, 29CM has been making a concerted effort to expand 29HOME's offline business. The first offline store, "29HOME Seongsu," which opened in June last year, recorded about 700,000 cumulative visitors within six months of opening. Word of mouth among foreign tourists has also increased foot traffic from global customers. In March, foreign tourists accounted for 54% of sales at 29HOME Seongsu Store No. 1. Foreign visitors spent more than locals.
On the back of its offline success, 29CM opened a store at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido in December last year and added Store No. 2 near Seongsu Store No. 1 in January this year. With the Seoul Forest location in the second half, it will secure three bases just within the Seongsu commercial district.
This opening also aligns with Musinsa's "Seoul Forest Project." The Seoul Forest Project aims to expand the foot traffic centered on Yeonmujang-gil in Seongsu to the Seoul Forest area and build a complex commercial district that spans fashion, beauty and home. Ahead of the 29HOME Seoul Forest opening, 29CM also plans to unveil "29KIDS Seoul Forest," a kids' fashion specialty select shop, next month.
The industry expects this opening to further intensify offline competition between 29CM and Ohouse. While 29CM is focusing on brand expansion by connecting on- and offline based on content and curation, Ohouse is putting more weight on strengthening construction service experiences with showrooms and consultation spaces.
Ohouse unveiled an offline flagship store in Bukchon last July, and last month opened the "Ohouse Interior Pangyo Lounge" in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi. Set up as an offline consultation hub as Ohouse strengthens its interior construction business, the space focuses on construction consultations and providing service experiences.
Competition with existing offline channels is also expected to heat up. Zara, a global specialty retailer of private label apparel (SPA) brand, is accelerating expansion of its home category with "Zara Home," and H&M and Arket are also gradually increasing the share of home product lines in their stores. In the department store sector, Lotte Department Store's "The Conran Shop" is seeking differentiation as a premium lifestyle select shop.
A 29CM official said, "Following the success of 29HOME Seongsu Store No. 1, we are gradually expanding our stores to provide a living experience that connects on- and offline," and added, "Given that the Seoul Forest location is a commercial area with active inflows of family visitors and foreign tourists, it will be a strategic base for expanding new customer segments."