SEOUL: Since IKEA entered the retail sector in South Korea in 2015, the furniture market got explosive sales. Thus, as Yonhap, the South Korean news agency reported, it started a competition with local retailers, according to La Prensa.
Statistics Korea released a report saying that the sales in retail furniture increased by 7% since 2014, with $4.15 billion earings, recording the biggest growth in the last ten years. IKEA entered the South Korean market in January 2015 in Seoul.
Kim Kwang-seop, an official of Statistics Korea, said that “the rising interest in home interior items has boosted demand for new furniture, driving up sales of furniture makers.” This would have been a threat to local retailers, but in fact it started a great competition, being a boom for the industry, as Yonhap reported.
The top five retailers in home furnishing, including Hanssem, Hyundai Livart and Enex had an increase of 20% in sales in 2015. IKEA earned $308 million from nearly 6.7 million visitors. By 2020, the Swedish furniture retailer plans to open five more stores.
