Rental and subscription services are rapidly expanding beyond water purifiers and home appliances to beds, sofas, and office furniture. Furniture companies are lowering the initial purchase burden by letting customers pay hundreds of thousands of won products in monthly installments, and their strategy is to create new demand by bundling cleaning and inspection/repair services. They also aim to move beyond one-off sales to maintain long-term relationships with customers and secure stable revenue.
◇ Coway's annual mattress rentals… furniture makers join in
On the 16th, according to related industries, the company that first showed the potential of furniture rentals was Coway. In 2011, Coway introduced a product that combined mattress rentals with a regular hygiene management service. In 2022, it launched the sleep and healing care brand "VIREX" and expanded the business to mattresses, bed frames, motion beds, and massage chairs.
Last year, Coway's domestic bed business revenue was 365.4 billion won, up 15.4% from a year earlier. During the same period, VIREX's domestic and overseas consolidation revenue also reached 719.9 billion won. Distributing the purchase expense of high-priced products and providing regular maintenance has taken root as the growth base of the bed business.
Recently, traditional furniture makers are also jumping into the subscription market. Shinsegae Casa's sleep brand "Materasso" introduced a mattress subscription service on the 18th of last month. Customers choose a term of 36, 48, or 60 months, pay a monthly subscription fee, and receive ownership of the product upon full payment.
The products are divided into the "basic type," which provides the product and after-sales service, and the "care plus type," which includes in-home maintenance. The total payment for the basic type is similar to a lump-sum purchase price, and the care plus type provides mattress cleaning every 12 months. With the maximum discount on a co-branded card, customers can use the Materasso Bay queen size starting in the 10,000 won range per month. Casamia's massage recliner "Campo Rest" has also been added to the subscription lineup.
A rental market once focused on home furniture is expanding to corporate office furniture. Fursys launched an office furniture rental service for corporate customers on the 1st.
Fursys provides not only desks and chairs but also installation and after-sales service, parts replacement, regular inspections, and chair cleaning as part of its operation and management services. Corporate customers can use a dedicated digital platform to check office floor plans and furniture layouts, contract terms, and maintenance histories by product, and to request management services.
The aim is to reduce the burden on corporations that would otherwise have to buy and dispose of furniture when headcount changes or offices relocate. Corporations can spread out their initial investment, while furniture companies can expand their business from product sales to office space management services.
◇ Lowering the initial burden and securing recurring revenue
The biggest reason furniture companies are expanding subscription services is that they can lower the price barrier of high-end products. Premium mattresses, motion beds, and functional sofas cost hundreds of thousands of won, but a monthly payment plan reduces the initial burden on consumers. Companies can attract customers who hesitated to buy because of lump-sum prices.
It also helps diversify the revenue structure. The conventional furniture business depends on demand at certain times, such as moves, wedding preparations, and apartment move-ins. In contrast, subscription contracts generate revenue over several years and allow ongoing contact with customers through after-sales service. It also becomes easier to prompt additional purchases of related products such as bed frames, bedding, and recliners.
However, it is difficult to apply the subscription model to all furniture. An industry official said, "For ordinary furniture such as dining tables and cabinets, replacement cycles are long and there is little need for regular maintenance," and added, "You have to operate in-home personnel and logistics/repair systems and a customer management system, which entails a not-insignificant expense."
Accordingly, furniture subscriptions are highly likely to grow around products such as mattresses, motion beds, and electric sofas that are high-priced and have demand for hygiene management or parts repairs. Corporate office furniture, where organizational changes and space reconfigurations are frequent, is also an area with strong synergy with subscriptions.
An industry official said, "The outcome of future competition will hinge more on management services than on monthly fees," adding, "If companies cannot offer benefits different from lump-sum purchases—such as regular cleaning, parts replacement, and prompt repairs—it will be hard to differentiate from long-term installment plans. Only companies that combine product quality with robust after-sales systems will be able to grow subscriptions into a stable source of recurring revenue."