House-proud Koreans embrace decor as IKEA, rivals tap singles

Seoul

IKEA was onto something when it opened its first South Korean store, its largest anywhere, in late 2014. Home furnishing chains are a bright spot in a sluggish South Korean economy, tapping demand from the rising share of people living alone and spending more to make their dwellings attractive and comfortable.

Local market leader Hanssem, with sales of more than US$1 billion in 2014, saw a 31 per cent increase in revenue for the first nine months of 2015, and a doubling in its share price for the year as it opened 27 of its larger stores in 2014-15. Shinsegae's Jaju chain opened 10 stores in 2015, bringing its total to 149.