‘Khanstone Premier Partners,’ a Showroom Specializing in Kitchen Countertops

A Wave of New Product Launches and a Diversified Business Structure Centered on B2C

Hyundai L&C is seeking to transform its B2B-centered business structure. The company is opening showrooms dedicated to kitchen furniture countertops together with domestic and international home interior companies, while also rolling out a large lineup of new products that make use of interior films—efforts that mark the start of its expansion into the B2C building-materials business.

Hyundai L&C, a building-materials specialist affiliated with the Hyundai Department Store Group, announced that it will operate ‘Khanstone Premier Partners,’ a premium kitchen countertop showroom, in partnership with total interior company Hyundai Livart and IKEA, the world’s largest home furnishings company.

‘Khanstone Premier Partners’ is a store that displays and sells kitchen furniture countertops, operated in a ‘shop-in-shop’ format within Hyundai Livart and IKEA showrooms. Starting recently with the showroom at the Livart Style Shop Gangnam exhibition hall, Hyundai L&C has successively opened ‘Khanstone Premier Partners’ showrooms at a total of 16 locations—12 large Hyundai Livart exhibition halls, including in Yongin (Giheung), Gyeonggi Province, and Busan, and 4 IKEA locations, including the Gwangmyeong store.

Hyundai L&C decided to open the ‘Khanstone Premier Partners’ showrooms in order to raise awareness of the ‘Khanstone’ brand among general consumers. A company official said, “‘Khanstone’ is the No. 1 brand by market share in Korea’s engineered stone market, but because we have conducted our business mainly through B2B—such as newly built apartments—and ‘B2R (Business-to-Retailer)’ targeting interior companies, it remains somewhat unfamiliar to general consumers,” adding, “Through the operation of ‘Khanstone Premier Partners,’ we expect to be able to raise our brand awareness in the B2C market.”

At each showroom, Hyundai L&C plans to display not only ‘Khanstone’ but also its ‘Hanex’ engineered marble, while also stationing countertop specialists who will offer customers tailored suggestions on design patterns, colors, and shapes optimized for the kitchen furniture products they have selected.

A company official said, “To capture the B2C market, we are in discussions to operate ‘Khanstone Premier Partners’ showrooms with premium overseas kitchen furniture brands, in addition to well-known domestic home interior companies such as Hyundai Livart.”

Alongside this, Hyundai L&C is unveiling a large lineup of new dual-purpose B2C·B2B products aimed at the ‘DIY (Do It Yourself)’ interior market. The company recently launched more than 60 new products in its ‘Bodaq’ interior film line, expanding its product range to more than 430 varieties. It has also recently launched ‘Bodaq Wall,’ a new-concept wall material that applies interior film technology, while moving to expand its sales network in earnest, including by opening dealerships.

‘Bodaq Wall’ is a new type of wall material in which an eco-friendly PET film is wrapped around a 6㎜-thick board (magnesium or calcium carbonate), and it is the first product of its kind introduced in Korea by Hyundai L&C. Because it is installed using a dry construction method that uses a dedicated adhesive and molding, it requires less time and cost than conventional, complex wall-finishing work—which involves ‘cutting wall-finishing materials such as gypsum board (as well as wood, tile, etc.) to fit the installation space and attaching them → purchasing and installing additional finishing materials such as wallpaper and molding.’ Because installation is simple, it can be readily used not only by professional interior companies but also by self-interior enthusiasts.

A Hyundai L&C official said, “As the spread of ‘COVID-19’ increased the amount of time people spend at home, the number of DIY interior enthusiasts who make small adjustments to furniture colors and molding finishes has been growing,” adding, “Combined with the construction convenience characteristic of the Bodaq product line and the effect of the new product launches, sales of the Bodaq product line in this past April and May rose about 16% compared with the same period last year.”

Starting with the operation of showrooms dedicated to kitchen furniture countertops, Hyundai L&C plans to expand its B2C points of contact across a variety of product lines. In addition, the company plans to build online sales channels alongside its expansion of offline sales networks, while also developing additional dual-purpose B2B and B2C products such as ‘Bodaq Wall.’

A Hyundai L&C official said, “By entering the B2C building-materials market through expanding our sales network and developing specialized products, we will diversify our business structure, which has been concentrated in the existing B2B segment.”