Hanssem to remodel itself into 'living tech' company 

South Korea’s furniture maker Hanssem Co. unveiled its mid-to-long-term business strategy to institutional investors on Friday. 

During its Analyst Day at Conrad Seoul hotel, the company’s CEO Kim Jin-tae vowed to turn Hanssem into a ‘living tech’ firm using a hybrid approach with both an online and offline presence. 

“We will pursue five core projects to reach 4 trillion won in revenue by 2026, including digital transformation and maximizing managerial efficiency,” Kim said during his speech.

Friday’s event was the first blueprint reveal of the company’s direction since IMM Private Equity became its biggest shareholder in early January. 

Hanssem rules as South Korea’s No. 1 provider of home remodeling and furniture and boasts a strong foundation in the end products' manufacturing and distribution. 

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The company is accelerating its digital transformation in home remodeling, in addition to the competitiveness it currently holds in logistics, construction and distribution.

Hanssem will pay special attention to advancing its search engine tool to allow clients to easily look up information on remodeling and try design features on their own.

The household name in interior design has a massive presence offline with some 900 stores and 60 showrooms nationwide. It hires some 5,000 professional design consultants and around 8,000 engineers. It also stores data on around 60,000 remodeling projects saved on its three-dimensional design program, Home Planner.

Industry insiders say that if the company can strengthen its search engine tools, it will gain an unmatched edge to dominate the home remodeling market from consultation to post-construction.

By 2024, Hanssem wants to shorten the remodeling period to a maximum of five days, as opposed to the current 10 to 20 days. 

To make that possible, the company will strengthen its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to react preemptively to possible supply bottlenecks.

Manufacturers across different industries have been suffering from supply shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak and the situation might continue for some time given Russia's war on Ukraine.

CORPORATE RESTRUCTURE

The company's goal is simply to make its clients’ homes the most desirable places for them to be in. To this end, Hanssem has launched a new department, CX, which stands for customer experience and is a melding of the marketing and customer service divisions. 

Hanssem will work to maximize operating efficiency in sales, supply chain management and product development. As was the case with the new CX division, it merged the division in charge of kitchen and baths with the main remodeling vertical for a synergy effect.

Other priorities for Hanssem are exploring overseas markets, Smart Homes, and M&As. 

The company is looking for partners in the United States, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia for online home remodeling services.

The adoption of the Smart Home Package, which connects lighting, cooktop, beds and more to the Internet of Things, is high on its list of things to do. 

Hanssem is looking for startups in the remodeling industry for MoUs and acquisitions to maintain its leading position in home remodeling and interior design in South Korea. 

Turning to investor relations, Hanseem plans to maintain a dividend payout ratio of 50% or more and promised to increase its valuation through improved profitability and emphasis and stronger core verticals. 

Write to Gyeong-Jin Min at min@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.