SKT Subscription Service Expansion... Extending to Rental Market Including Water Purifiers

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] SK Telecom, which has positioned the AI-based 'subscription model' as the core of its Mobile Network Operator (MNO) business strategy, has expanded its subscription service offerings to the rental market including water purifiers, air purifiers, and induction cookers. The company plans to secure 1,000 subscription specialty stores and more than 2,000 subscription consultants to create a new 'subscription brand' in the future.

According to SK Telecom on the 31st, the company signed a business consignment contract with SK Magic and from today will sell 88 rental products handled by SK Magic, such as water purifiers, air purifiers, and induction cookers, at its own dealerships. Initially, SK Magic rental subscription services allowing customers to directly experience rental products will open at about 1,700 offline stores, with plans to expand to all stores later. Experience specialty stores will also be established at regional hubs.

This home care subscription service is the second subscription product following 'Woongjin Smart All,' launched through a business agreement with Woongjin Think Big in February. After entering the education subscription sector, SK Telecom has now expanded into the rental sector. From a distribution network perspective, it is expected to find new sales revenue sources beyond existing communication-linked services such as mobile phones, wired services, and security.

Through this, SK Telecom aims to transform into a 'subscription-based AI company.' This is interpreted as a strategy to find a new growth model at a stage where the core mobile communication market is virtually saturated.

SK Telecom also plans to launch a service that allows convenient subscription and management of partner companies' subscription products. If AI-linked products such as SK Magic's water purifiers, which provide services like weather, music, and alarms combined with AI speakers, are developed, customer convenience is expected to be further enhanced.

Yoon Jae-woong, head of subscription marketing at SK Telecom, said, "After launching this home appliance rental subscription service, we are considering sequential product launches in various areas of daily life such as F&B, travel, mobility, and delivery," adding, "In the future, SKT dealerships will be able to offer consultations and subscriptions not only for communication services but also for various services closely related to daily life."

Meanwhile, SK Telecom is holding an event from March 31 to April 30, where among customers who apply for purchase consultations for 'SK Magic Rental' in line with the launch of the SK Magic subscription service, a total of 400 people will be selected by lottery to receive home care partnership subscription benefits worth 150,000 KRW for free.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.