Leading luxury retailer of furniture and home accessories Conran Shop announced Thursday the launch of its first outlet in upscale Gangnam District, southern Seoul.
In a 10-year partnership with local retail giant Lotte Shopping, the London-based retailer of more than 300 designer brands will offer a unique curation of design classics and future icons.
Table and kitchen ware are displayed at the Conran Store opened at Lotte Department Store in Gangnam, southern Seoul (Lotte Shopping)
Korea’s lifestyle market has grown nearly 70 percent in in the past decade -- from 7 trillion won ($6 billion) in 2008 to 12 trillion won in 2017 -- Lotte said, quoting data from Statistics Korea.
“The luxury market is in Korea is developing (its) sophistication exponentially,” said Conran Shop CEO Hugh Wahla at a press conference in Seoul.
“I think that the Korean landscape is changing rapidly with growing sophistication around design and what Conran does. We have a lot of synergies with the domestic market.”
The Conran Store at Lotte Department Store in Gangnam, southern Seoul (Lotte Shopping
The Conran Shop in Gangnam is the company’s 12th store and its largest in the world -- it has outlets in the UK, France and Japan.
Occupying a 3,305-square-meter space, the two-story shop brings designer brands from Fritz Hansen to Vitra together under Conran’s design philosophy.
Under the design concept of yin and yang, the first floor uses a white color scheme representing modernity and the future, while the second floor uses black to illustrate the classical side of its furnishing choices. The two stories are connected by a cobalt blue escalator, a signature color of Conran, he explained.
The opening of the outlet is part of Lotte’s 40th anniversary project, the company said, declining to specify details of the contract, citing confidentiality.
The Conran Shop is also seeking to open multiple stores across South Korea. The company has six stores across Japan, after launching there 25 years ago. “I am anticipating that we will have more stores in Korea,” he said.
In his congratulatory message, Terence Conran, a renowned designer and founder of the retailer, called the new flagship store “a pivotal moment.”
“We are proud to be partnering with Lotte to realize this dream and I know Conran Shop and our design philosophy will be nurtured with care and passion,” he said.
By Cho Chung-un (
christory@heraldcorp.com)
