Future-oriented Flagship Store #Hyundai Department Store

Future-oriented flagship store 'The Hyundai Seoul' attracts attention | 1 — Photo from Hyundai Department Store website

Hyundai Department Store, led by CEO Kim Hyung-jong, will open the largest flagship store in Seoul, The Hyundai Seoul, in Yeouido on the 26th. The Hyundai Seoul is a future-oriented flagship store that Hyundai Department Store is running with the theme 'Echoing towards the future'.

In particular, The Hyundai Seoul has been receiving attention even before its opening due to its innovative spatial design, global content curation, and the integration of futuristic technology. With the largest sales floor area in Seoul of 89,100 square meters (about 27,000 pyeong), it is similar in size to the Hyundai Department Store Pangyo branch, which was the fastest among domestic department stores last year to surpass one trillion won in annual sales (92,416 square meters, 28,005 pyeong).

The Hyundai Seoul, a future-oriented flagship store, not only has the largest and most innovative space design in Seoul but also includes flagship luxury, MZ (Millennial + Generation Z) specialty stores, the largest food hall in Korea, and the largest complex cultural space in the industry, along with global curation. It also features industry-first unmanned smart stores and safety management robots, showcasing future-oriented technology.

Hyundai Department Store aims to present a new future-oriented department store through innovative space design and store composition, breaking the mold of traditional department stores.

Starting with its name, 'The Hyundai Seoul' omits the conventional term 'department store' to propose a higher level lifestyle to customers, moving beyond the limited framework. In particular, it draws attention by going beyond just a space for selling products, targeting the MZ generation, who are expected to lead future consumption trends.

Future-oriented flagship store 'The Hyundai Seoul' attracts attention | 2 — Photo from Hyundai Department Store website

Innovative design bringing nature indoors

The Hyundai Seoul was constructed with innovative design that seems to transfer nature indoors, involving nine global architecture and design firms. It achieves a distinctive completion of design through unexpected materials, balance of planes and lines, and unique designs for open spaces.

Among these, key spaces such as the 'Sounds Forest,' the industry's largest indoor garden of one thousand pyeong, and the Waterfall Garden, with a 12m-high artificial waterfall flowing from the third floor to the first, make up approximately 3,400 pyeong of the largest indoor landscaping in the industry, allowing visitors to enjoy nature even indoors.

Floor-by-floor MD considering customer preferences and convenient shopping

The Hyundai Seoul has reorganized its stores based on lifestyle criteria considering customer preferences, showcasing unprecedented new spaces through collaboration with nine global architecture and design groups. It is equipped with eight voids penetrating all floors to maximize natural light and an elliptical block plan for convenient circulation, while combining rest areas and display spaces organically, ensuring convenience and attempting innovation.

The Hyundai Seoul has also arranged its floor-by-floor MD in a different manner from before. The stores are newly organized based on lifestyle standards considering customer preferences.

The first floor's exclusive label space contains a unique luxury style where art and luxury coexist.

The work 'New Spring Forest' by British artist Alexander Groves and Japanese architect Azusa Murakami, the design duo behind Studio Swine, is exhibited on a scale of about 180 pyeong, and flagship stores of luxury brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Burberry are opening.

The Modern Mood and About Fashion floors, spanning the 2nd and 3rd floors, will house the first stores in Korea and Asia of the British luxury spa brand Bamford and the Italian barbershop Barberino's.

The 4th and 5th floors, themed around Life & Balance, are designed for consumers seeking a healthy life balance with various suggestions for the increasingly important home styling trend. The largest department store spaces in Seoul for Samsung/LG (each about 200 pyeong) are set to open, and the high-end living curation space 'Director's Archive' will feature the Chapter One linked edit shop 'Archetype' and global living brands such as Louis Poulsen.

Future-oriented flagship store 'The Hyundai Seoul' attracts attention | 3 — Photo from Hyundai Department Store website

The basement 2nd floor features the Creative Ground, targeted at the MZ generation. The first Asian store of H&M's premium brand Arket, Nike Sports Plus, Starbucks Reserve, and Steelbooks are set to open, combining fashion, F&B, and cultural content into a composite content space.

The basement 1st floor will open Tasty Seoul, capturing global food culture on the largest scale of 4,483 pyeong in Korea, consolidating all capabilities of the department store's greatest strength in food culture.

5th floor	Samsung Megastore, LG Megastore, New Balance Kids, Fila Kids, Adidas Kids, Dyson, Lego LCS, Play Kids Pro, Play in the Box, Carry Market, etc.
4th floor	The North Face, Kodak, National Geographic, Wak, GFore, Titleist, PXG, J.Lindeberg, GFore, Wak, Black Yak, Discovery, K2, Nepa, Descente Golf, etc.
3rd floor	Time, Mine, Time Homme, System Homme, The Cashmere, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, Hazzys, Daks, Bean Pole, Olzen, Galaxy, Henry Cotton, Cambridge, Ziozia, Marimekko Dupont, Barbour, etc.
2nd floor	Stone Island, Le Beige, Theory, Juun.J, Sandro, Helen Kaminski, Golden Goose, Lululemon, Bamford, Lanvin Collection, Kenzo, DKNY, Gucci Shoes, Jimmy Choo, etc.
1st floor	Gucci, Prada, Balenciaga, Moncler, Tiffany, Chanel Beauty, Sulwhasoo, Lancome, TAG Heuer, Nespresso, Omega, Montblanc, Giorgio Armani, Estee Lauder, etc.
Basement 1st floor	Tasty Seoul/ Howoosung, Taeguktang, Tailor Coffee, Camel Coffee, William Sonoma, Paris Croissant, Eggslut, Milbon, Shop Food Truck Piazza, etc.
Basement 2nd floor	Arket, Nike Sports Plus, Adidas, Stadium, Starbucks Reserve, Gol Studio, Tommy Jeans, Duel, Sisley, Benetton, Swarovski Crystal Studio, Marithe Francois Girbaud, Marc Jacobs, etc.

Main MD by floor of The Hyundai Seoul

Decorated with the concepts of PARK, STREET, and MARKET, it offers a wide range of food culture including trendy F&B such as Montan and Eggslut, as well as the largest food truck street of 400 pyeong in Korea and the cheese and charcuterie specialty shop 'Dairy Boutique'.

The Hyundai Seoul has also been transformed into a global art & culture mecca on the 6th floor. The cultural center, boasting authenticity since 1985, is reborn as 'CH 1985 (Culture House 1985)'. It will be a taste community platform for the MZ generation, featuring lifestyle-reflecting digital classes, and specialized spaces such as the 'Media Theater Hall' equipped with a top-quality sound system. Additionally, the largest distribution facility culture space ALT.1 (350 pyeong) is planned under the motto 'Advancing life through diverse cultural communication'. The first exhibition will feature the global pop art master Andy Warhol's 'Andy Warhol Exhibition, Beginning Seoul'.

Future-oriented flagship store 'The Hyundai Seoul' attracts attention | 4 — Photo from Hyundai Department Store website

Enjoy convenient shopping with retail tech based on humanism

The Hyundai Seoul introduces services featuring various retail technologies with a sense of responsibility for a safe future for the community after COVID. All customers using WiFi can receive guidance and subscription services on mobile, and various technologies are introduced for minimizing contact and for disinfection.

Above all, for the first time in the retail industry, it opens the unmanned store 'Uncommon Store' based on Amazon Web Services (AWS) technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning from Hyundai Department Store Group's own research. About 40 cameras will track customers' locations and automatically process payments when they leave the store, offering a new and convenient shopping experience.