LG Uplus opens Korea's first smart home service store

LG Uplus U Plus SQUARE Home in Cheongna International City in northern Incheon is seen in this file photo. The telecom company said Wednesday that the store is the first in the country to be dedicated to smart home services. / Courtesy of LG Uplus

By Yoon Sung-won

LG Uplus said Wednesday it has opened the country’s first store dedicated to home Internet of Things (IoT) and internet television services in Incheon.

The nation’s third-largest telecom company, which has been aggressively pushing its home IoT service business globally, pledged to set up more such stores to expand its customer base here.

“With the new store, we can now provide a hands-on experience of our U+tv and home IoT services to consumers and promote how the services are changing lives in households,” LG Uplus Home Marketing Division Vice President Song Gu-young said in a statement. “We will continue to come up with differentiated concepts of store design to maximize customer satisfaction.”

LG Uplus said it is leading the domestic home IoT service market, attracting about 460,000 subscriptions here so far. Amid fierce competition with larger contenders SK Telecom and KT, the company has also pushed to establish partnerships with builders and home interior design businesses to boost its business-to-business performance at the same time.

In the internet protocol television (IPTV) market, it holds an 8 percent share.

Whereas ordinary telecom outlets are specialized in selling mobile services and handsets, the new store in Incheon promotes home IoT services and IPTV services. To this end, LG Uplus said it has designed the store like a model house demonstrating its smart home services.

In the U+tv demonstration zone is a 75-inch ultra high-definition television and a sofa to make it look like an actual living room, while IoT gas lock and smart plugs are set up for demonstration in the kitchen sector, the company said.

LG UPlus said it will set up for home service demonstration zones at more of its stores next year.