[Consumerwide - Jinil Kang Reporter / Yohan Bok Reporter] Nitori entered the Korean home furnishing market as they opened the first store at Hawolgok Emart in Seoul on the 23rd.

Nitori is targeting opening 200 stores in ten years to approach Korean customers as closely as possible. As their first step, they are going to open three to four stores by April 2024 in the domestic area. Thus, we asked Onuki Keigo, the CEO of Nitori, about their plans in Korea.

We opened our first store of Nitori in Korea. Nitori Korea plans to approach Korean customers with the slogan "Everything is ready when Nitori is with us." while continually expanding stores. There are a number of businesses that also suggest interior plans. We will also try our best to stand out as an interior business loved by Korean customers. We will expand stores in Korea so that Nitori can be at a distance where customers can approach easily, hopefully in less than 30 minutes."

Nitori is similar to Ikea; thus, people call it Little Ikea in Japan. Differences between Ikea and Nitori: Onuki Keigo mentioned the number of stores. There are only six Ikea stores in Korea currently. But Nitori plans to expand the store to 200 in ten years. It can be interpreted as Nitori is focusing on accountability by increasing connections with customers. The CEO of Nitori said, "We are making a priority of increasing the number of stores in Korea by as much as 200 in ten years. We perceive that there aren't many interior stores that are reliable near residential areas. Concerning Ikea, which has almost everything that is convenient for customers, we plan to expand the number of stores.