"MZ Young Rich Targeted"...Why Startups Entered Gangnam Shinsegae Department Store

Interior Startup 'Apartmentary' Opens Pop-up Store at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam Branch
250% Annual Growth Since 2016 Establishment... Targeting 2030 'Young Rich' Market
Interior Market Booms with Increasing 'Jipkokjok'... Expected to Reach 60 Trillion Won This Year

Exterior view of Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam Branch.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] As the interior design market rapidly grows due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, related startups are also attracting industry attention. There has even been a case where an interior design startup targeting the 20s and 30s "Young Rich" segment became the first in the industry to open a store at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam Branch, known as the "luxury hotspot."

According to the industry on the 14th, interior design startup Apartmentmentary opened a pop-up store on the 9th floor of Shinsegae Gangnam Branch on the 13th. The company explained that this is the first case of an interior brand entering Shinsegae Gangnam Branch.

Apartmentmentary designed the pop-up store like a gallery so visitors could experience the home interior style the company aims for. The company also showcased a premium kitchen line exclusively at Shinsegae Gangnam Branch. Shinsegae and Apartmentmentary plan to target the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) Young Rich who are highly interested in interior design through the pop-up store.

Interior startup ApartMentary's pop-up store opened at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch.
[Photo by ApartMentary]

Apartmentmentary is a startup providing premium interior solutions mainly to the MZ generation Young Rich. They standardized interior construction prices and handle the construction themselves, gaining popularity centered around "Mayongseong" (Mapo, Yongsan, Seongdong). According to Apartmentmentary, the company recorded an average annual growth rate of 250% from its establishment in 2016 until last year. They have attracted a total investment of 13 billion KRW from SoftBank Ventures and others, and their current corporate value is about 200 billion KRW.

The reason Shinsegae Gangnam Branch recently partnered with emerging startups lies in the rapidly expanding interior market. According to the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute and others, last year the domestic interior and remodeling market was worth 41.5 trillion KRW, growing approximately 114% compared to 10 years ago (19.4 trillion KRW). This year, the interior and remodeling market is expected to increase to 60 trillion KRW. This is why Shinsegae Gangnam Branch, also called the "luxury hotspot" with major luxury brands, sent a love call to startups.

Thanks to these achievements, Apartmentmentary's performance is expected to continue soaring. Apartmentmentary anticipates its sales to reach about 30 billion KRW this year, which is three times last year's sales (about 10 billion KRW). The company has already recorded about 15 billion KRW in sales in the first half of this year alone.

An Apartmentmentary official said, "With the recent surge in apartment interior demand, interior design has become both a consumer trend and a product," adding, "We aim not only to expand our brand at Shinsegae Gangnam Branch but also to set the highest sales record within the living brand category."

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