Department Store with a Gallery "Selling Art"

'Art Tech' Preemption Differentiation Strategy
From Still Life to Pop Art
Expanding Permanent Exhibitions and Art Sales
Leading Culture Beyond a Simple Shopping Space

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Department stores are diversifying the ways they exhibit and sell artworks this year, riding the wave of 'art tech.' They are expanding their scope beyond introducing galleries at the department store level to collaborating with famous galleries to exhibit and sell popular works.

Shinsegae Department Store's 'Jang Design Art' Exhibition.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the distribution industry on the 16th, the 'Jang Design Art' event held at the men's fashion specialty hall on the 6th floor of the new building of Shinsegae Department Store's main branch until the 2nd of next month is gaining popularity, with more than 20 teams requesting artwork explanations and one-on-one consultations on weekends. Daniel Yasam's 'Black Broken Mirror,' priced at around 30 million KRW, is also receiving continuous purchase inquiries. A department store official explained, "More than 90% of the reservation visitors already know the artist and the works and are customers actively interested in art collection. Customers who proceed to purchase tend to be younger, in their 30s and 40s." He added, "A professional docent is stationed and conducts personalized one-on-one art consulting with customers three times a day." Customers can not only purchase artworks but also select lighting that suits the space with consultants and receive installation consultations. Shinsegae, led by Chung Yoo-kyung, the overall president of Shinsegae, is actively engaging in the art business. In December last year, it invested 28 billion KRW in Seoul Auction, acquiring a 4.82% stake.

Lotte Department Store's 'Beyond Landscape' Exhibition.
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

At Lotte Department Store, a monochrome painting worth 600 million KRW was sold. Lotte Department Store officially started selling artworks with the premium art sales exhibition 'Art Lotte' at the end of June last year. In August, it opened the 'Lotte Gallery Hall' on the Lotte Department Store application (app), where customers can purchase works by famous artists. In September, it established the 'Art Business Office' within the organization to accelerate the business further. Sales of artworks at Lotte Department Store have steadily increased. The sales growth rate in the fourth quarter of last year was more than three times that of the third quarter, showing a continuous increase in demand.

'Beyond the Road' Exhibition at The Hyundai Seoul.

Hyundai Department Store sells paintings ranging from 500,000 KRW to a maximum of 10 million KRW in the 'Artworks, Collectibles, Masterpieces' category on The Hyundai website. The selection ranges from still life paintings to Nancy Lang's pop art. Exhibitions held at 'ALT.1,' a complex cultural space on the 6th floor of The Hyundai Seoul, are popular among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). The 'Beyond Road' exhibition, held as an opening exhibition from February to June last year, attracted more than 1,000 visitors daily and was extended for about two months due to its success.

Professor Seo Yong-gu of the Department of Business Administration at Sookmyung Women's University analyzed the department stores' focus on art, saying, "Consumers now see department stores not just as simple shopping spaces but as spaces leading culture, so department stores are focusing on art." He added, "Since the art market is being newly created with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and others, department stores are taking the lead and pursuing differentiation strategies through art marketing."

The strategy of placing artworks and having galleries in department stores is also frequently used overseas. It attracts not only upscale customers but also people in their 20s and 30s who post photos on social networking services (SNS). For example, Ginza Six, a complex shopping mall located in Ginza, a luxury district in Japan, placed works by the famous Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at its opening, gaining popularity among people in their 20s and 30s. They have created an art museum and actively engage in permanent exhibitions and art sales by having an 'Art' category on their website.

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