[Herald Economy = Reporter Park Byung-guk] Hyundai Department Store announced on the 25th that it is collaborating with the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center to establish a ‘co-growth ecosystem’ with deep tech startups. Deep tech startups are companies that intensively research and develop 1-2 specific technologies.
In October, Hyundai Department Store and the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center selected six promising startups. The Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center is a startup support organization under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It operates various programs to build a cooperative structure between large/mid-sized companies and innovative startups.
At the ‘Meet-up Day’ event scheduled for the end of this month, Hyundai Department Store plans to discuss ways to collaborate with these companies. Startups will have the opportunity to validate their developed products and solutions using Hyundai Department Store’s infrastructure while assessing their market viability. Hyundai Department Store aims to incorporate the future innovative technologies developed by these startups into new spaces at the department store to provide customers with novel retail experiences.
Hyundai Department Store emphasized that the pilot projects it has conducted since last year are showing results. Previously, Hyundai Department Store collaborated with major public institutions such as the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, the Seoul Design Foundation, and the Gyeonggi Content Agency to discover promising startups. Up to this year, 19 deep tech sector startups participated and showcased 29 new contents.
A representative case is the ‘AI Photo Booth’ pop-up store conducted with the AI solution startup ‘Millennial Works’ at five locations, including the Mokdong and Connect Hyundai Busan branches, this year. Based on generative AI technology, customers could create their personal virtual characters and participate in a virtual YouTuber audition on-site. Accumulated sales during the event period reached 100 million won.
The ‘AI Perfumer’ pop-up store held at the Sinchon branch and The Hyundai Daegu also caught attention as a new attempt to combine technology with retail. The AI Perfumer analyzes conversations with the customer or the style of clothing they are wearing to recommend tailored perfumes from the cosmetic brands located on the first floor of the department store. This related promotion also increased customer satisfaction.
A Hyundai Department Store official stated, “As part of our open innovation strategy, we are strengthening collaboration with startups that possess representative technological capabilities domestically and internationally,” and added, “We aim to create a platform of mutual growth that goes beyond just showcasing the new technologies of startups, leading to actual sales and revenue.”