April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Livart, the home furnishing arm of Hyundai Department Store, announced on Oct. 24 that it will open Williams Sonoma’s flagship store in Gangnam, southern Seoul, on Oct. 31.

The four-story building, which has a total of 1,808 square-meter store space, will sells over 45,000 products of three Williams Sonoma brands -- Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and west elm. 

This is the first time that the US company that usually operates separate stores for different brands has combined its brands in one store.

Since Nonhyun-dong in Gangnam is a mecca of well-known home furnishing brand shops with flourishing customer demand, an exception was applied to the new shop to increase brand awareness here, according to Hyundai Livart.

“This is our first try. Based on the store’s success, we will decide on another store opening,” a Hyundai Livart official told The Investor.

The Korean firm in February inked an exclusive contract to operate Williams Sonoma stores in Korea. It has set up eight stores so far.

The firm aims to further expand its home furnishing business by opening over 30 Williams Sonoma stores in the next 10 years.

Hyundai Livart is the second-biggest home furnishing company in Korea, with its sales reaching 735.6 billion won (US$652.01 million) in 2016.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)