NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Bodyfriend, a prominent massage-chair manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, plans to have a presence in every major US city by 2022, offering customers the ability to experience its product to the fullest and enjoy the entire purchasing experience in a showroom-like environment, CEO Taek Kim tells GlobeSt.com. Launched in 2007, the company has become the highest-growing massage company in the world, grossing $360 million in 2016.

Bodyfriend's goal is to gross $1 billion in sales per calendar year. It has expanded into the global market starting with the US, recently acquired factories in China and Italy and focused on the Asian and North American markets starting this year. In addition, Bodyfriend and Automobili Lamborghini, a luxury supercar manufacturer, have entered a four-year partnership deal to combine the health benefits that massage chairs offer with the spirit and design of one the Lamborghini brand.

We spoke with Kim about the popularity of this product, why massage-chair stores work and how they fit in with current retail trends.

GlobeSt.com: How do massage-chair stores fit into the mix of what consumers want in retail stores today?

Kim: Our primary focus has always been to create a more private experience for the people who are interested in purchasing a massage chair. This is not something that current massage retail stores offer, especially the ones in the US. This has been our recipe for success since the inception of the company. We already opened two showrooms in Los Angeles.

The way we represent our products helps us shape the perception that massage chairs are not only medical devices—yes, they indeed are part of the healthcare industry and deliver fantastic health results—but they need to have an appealing appearance, too. This will be an object that will most likely stay in your living room for years. It should not be a reminder of your back pain, but a fashion statement and a tool for entertainment.

By creating stores, we want customers to be able to experience the concept of our products to their full capacity. When we initially opened our first store in Korea more than 10 years ago, we did not realize the power of product concept and store interior design. We just wanted to create amazing products and we were following a more traditional (Japanese) way to present massage chairs. Soon, we realized that what we need is to bring change, not only in the product design and functionality of the products, but also the way we exhibit them to the people. We wanted our stores to look not like stores, but like showrooms where our clients can come and enjoy the entire purchasing experience. Being number-one in functionality was not enough—we wanted to be number one in experience, too.

We want to not only meet the market demand, but also educate people living in the western world about the benefits of having a massage chair at home. And people are starting to realize that massage chairs can be very affordable and even save them money. People now can get an excellent-looking massage chair with fantastic capabilities for as low as $2,000. This is a small price to pay when your whole family can use it for years and the quality of massages you will be getting will always be consistent.

Opening the stores in the US is our first step toward expanding the US massage-chair market. Communicating your message is impossible if you are unable let people experience it themselves.

GlobeSt.com: Why has this product, in particular, become so popular?

Kim: The media who visited our booth at CES earlier this year fell in love with the products we had on display. We will be showing off a working model of a sportscar-inspired massage chair at CES 2018, so we are expecting an even better reception next year. Our newest release will have an innovative design structure and multiple smart functions.

GlobeSt.com: What other retail trends are you noticing?

Kim: Our showrooms are high-end and customized. We have a whole department that handles interior design in-house. Nowadays, you cannot open a store and just expect sales; now you have to focus on detail and how you present your product to the world. We genuinely believe one of the reasons retail is struggling at the moment is because stores lack in the ability to attract the attention of buyers. If companies want to survive in the industry, they will have to focus on design, innovation, smart technology integration, R&D, branding and marketing.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about these store openings?

Kim: We are soon going to be in every mainstream metropolitan area in the US. We are currently in active negotiation with most high-end mall conglomerates, and we will soon be in more Westfield malls, South Coast Plaza, etc. We started with two showrooms in California, and we will open locations in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Las Vegas and more. Samsung is our only partner in Korea, so we may start working with Samsung's equivalent in the US. If a car manufacturer such as Tesla can add retail locations to upscale fashion stores such as Nordstrom, I don't see a reason why we wouldn't consider taking the same route. Would you fancy seeing a Bodyfriend massage chair showroom in Bloomingdale's?

We spoke with Kim about the popularity of this product, why massage-chair stores work and how they fit in with current retail trends.

GlobeSt.com: How do massage-chair stores fit into the mix of what consumers want in retail stores today?

Opening the stores in the US is our first step toward expanding the US massage-chair market. Communicating your message is impossible if you are unable let people experience it themselves.

GlobeSt.com: Why has this product, in particular, become so popular?

GlobeSt.com: What other retail trends are you noticing?

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about these store openings?

Instant Insights /

Are Massage Chairs the Next Retail Experience?

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