Homemaker panels from key Greater Seoul areas attend forum

CEO Song Chi-young makes surprise visit to hear feedback firsthand

Participants pose for a group photo at Posco E&C's "Creating Happy Homes and Brands Customers Choose" brand forum. [Posco E&C]
Participants pose for a group photo at Posco E&C's "Creating Happy Homes and Brands Customers Choose" brand forum. [Posco E&C]

"Instead of 'showcase landscaping' that only drives up maintenance costs, please shift to 'experiential landscaping' that residents can naturally enjoy in their daily routines — from the underground parking lot all the way to their front door."

 

— A homemaker panelist at Posco E&C's "Creating Happy Homes and Brands Customers Choose" brand forum

포스코이앤씨 ‘고객이 행복한 주거, 고객이 선택하는 브랜드 만들기’ 포럼에 참석한 주부 A씨

Posco E&C said Wednesday that President Song Chi-young attended the company's "Creating Happy Homes and Brands Customers Choose" brand forum, held Tuesday at the Thesharp Gallery in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where Song listened directly to customer assessments of the company's residential brands.

The forum brought together about 60 in-house executives and employees responsible for every stage of the process — from product planning and design to pre-sales, urban renewal sales and post-move-in customer service — alongside 26 homemaker panelists from key metropolitan areas setting residential trends and four specialists in branding, architecture, interior design and real estate, who exchanged candid opinions.

Posco E&C said it plans to use the feedback to drive a paradigm shift for its flagship brand Thesharp and its high-end brand Oithere.

Song arrived at the venue unannounced and listened to customers and specialists from start to finish. The forum opened with keynote addresses by Cheon Eui-young, a professor in the architecture department at Kyonggi University, on "Changes in the Future Residential Paradigm," and Kim So-yeon, a professor in the integrated design department at Yonsei University, on "The Conditions of a Brand That Gets Chosen."

The focused panel discussion centered on practical suggestions from end-users directed at Thesharp and Oithere. Panelists concentrated on the need to build on Thesharp's core strengths — solidity and trustworthiness — while adding the refined sensibility and attention to detail that younger buyers expect.

The homemaker panelists particularly called for a shift toward "experiential landscaping" that residents can enjoy naturally along everyday routes, from underground parking to their front doors. The discussion also gave significant weight to the need to expand residential life-care services that meaningfully ease the burden of caregiving — for children and seniors alike — as well as housekeeping tasks such as cleaning and laundry.

Feedback on the high-end brand followed. One homemaker panelist said that for Oithere to build firm trust in prime locations, "meticulous consideration that reaches into residents' actual daily lives is just as essential as construction quality," underscoring the importance of detail as seen through the eyes of people who actually live there.

"Unvarnished criticism from customers is the surest way to take a clear-eyed look at where our brand really stands and make the leap to the next level," Song said. "We will actively reflect the valuable voices from today's forum in our brand and product development, and establish ourselves as the brand customers trust and choose above all others."

Posco E&C said it will incorporate the customer demands and expert recommendations that emerged from the discussion into its product planning, and will continue to strengthen the fundamental competitiveness of its residential offerings by maximizing the tangible value that customers feel every day.

Meanwhile, Posco E&C recently won a contract to remodel the Isu Shindonga 4 apartment complex in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, in a project valued at 526.4 billion won ($397 million). The remodeling will transform the complex into a development of 1,048 units across eight buildings rising 21 stories above ground, adding 136 units to the existing 912. Posco E&C has proposed naming the redeveloped complex Thesharp Isuyeok El Platz.


hss@heraldcorp.com