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Business

Visit Iris Korea

Date 2023-04-27
Hit 56

Enriching Consumers’ Lives!

Efforts to Resolve Inconveniences for Consumers

The management philosophy of Iris Korea is evident: for a more prosperous life for consumers, the company works to constantly develop products that recognize elements of dissatisfaction in life in order to strive to improve such problems. Iris Korea has expanded its presence since establishing its state-of-the-art smart factory in Songdo International City in March 2019.

Iris Korea

Establishment Date May 10, 1988

Type of Business Non-specialized wholesale trade

Products Manufacturing of plastic household items, home appliances, sanitary masks, etc.

Address 29 Cheomdan-daero 60beon-gil, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon

Japan’s Largest Consumer Electronics Manufacturer

Iris Ohyama, the predecessor of Iris Korea, is Japan’s largest household-goods company, founded by a third-generation Korean-Japanese. It manufactures about 23,000 different products, from DIY furniture to small home appliances and LED fields, operating 30 group companies at home and abroad, as well as 36 factories worldwide.

Established in 1988, Iris Korea opened a logistics center in Gunpo in 2003 to start its operations in the country. In 2019, the company built a manufacturing plant in Songdo International City to function as a full-fledged maker and vendor (manufacturing and sales).

At the time of its initial establishment, the Korean branch mainly produced molds for storage products. In 2003, a logistics center was opened in Gunpo to strengthen the logistics distribution system.

Since then, as the distribution channel gradually moved online, Iris Korea began to expand its online sales. In addition, the company chose Songdo International City, which offers an advanced logistics and business environment, as its investment destination and established a state-of-the-art smart factory with a total floor area of 46,700 ㎡ in March 2019. Currently, Iris Korea’s main products are plastic storage products and circulators. In particular, plastic storage products are the company’s top selling items, offering the world’s first transparent storage boxes, developed by Iris.

Establishment of a Stable Distribution System with Automated Production Facilities

Automated production facilities not only reduce costs but also allow for quick responses to consumer demand. Iris Korea’s manufacturing plant produces an average of 20,000 plastic storage items daily by establishing robot automation lines. In addition, by setting up an automated warehouse that can accommodate 26,500 pallets, the company realizes cost savings through a stable distribution system. Automated logistics warehouses automatically ship products through an in-house logistics system for orders from large-scale e-commerce systems. This process is also connected to the Japanese headquarters.

Currently, Iris Korea is distributing through large shopping malls like Coupang, G Market, SSG, and Costco, with plans for this year’s figures to hit KRW 30 billion through online sales alone.

Iris Korea inherits the idea of “User-in,” the management philosophy of the Iris Group, emphasizing corporate social responsibility. Accordingly, Iris Korea is continuing to promote various activities to contribute to the local community, such as seeking ways for companies and consumers to coexist. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company participated in a warm sharing campaign for low-income families and showed kindness by donating masks and other daily necessities.

It is Iris’ belief that product development should always revolve around necessary functions installed at a reasonable price. Automating production and logistics, Iris Korea has set the goal of becoming No. 1 in the domestic plastic storage goods industry by 2026.

The expectation is for Songdo International City to develop more innovative products that target the global market.

MINI INTERVIEW

Amimoto Mitsuhiko

CEO of Iris Korea

Can you please briefly introduce Iris Korea?

Iris Korea is the Korean branch of Iris Ohyama, headquartered in Japan and the country’s largest consumer electronics company. The Korean corporation started from a small office in Insa-dong, Seoul, on June 1, 1988, and has grown to include a logistics center in Gunpo and a factory in Songdo International City.

This company, beloved for its home appliances, manufactures and sells household goods while responding quickly and flexibly to domestic consumer demands.

What is the background for Iris Korea’s establishment as the company’s first overseas corporation?

The founder of Iris, Kentaro Oyama, is a third-generation Korean-Japanese whose grandparents moved to Japan from Haman, Gyeongsangnam-do. He has such a special affection for Korea that he calls himself a descendant of the Haman Cho clan. Additionally, with Korea’s status as a hub for logistics in Asia, this led to establishing the Gunpo Logistics Center in 2003 for the supply of molds, core to the injection process at the beginning of the business, and we have since been able to provide them smoothly to Dalian, China, the main production base.

What are the advantages of Iris Korea conducting business in Songdo International City?

Since Iris Korea focuses on online business, excellent human resources are crucial. With around 10 leading universities within a 10-kilometer radius of Songdo International City, it is easy to find talented people for our ranks. Additionally, for Iris, a global company, it was essential to choose a location where it could communicate with the world. Songdo International City offered the advantage of being geographically close to Incheon International Airport and Incheon Port.

What are Iris Korea’s plans for the future?

It has been four years since the establishment of Iris Korea’s Incheon Songdo Plant. Iris Korea aims to promote sales growth in further expanding domestically produced items by maximizing the strengths of the Songdo branch. To this end, we plan to secure price competitiveness by improving our automated production lines. Iris Korea is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. To make consumers’ lives more prosperous, we will respond quickly to the changes of the times in order to develop products and will strive to become a company that contributes to the region and to society, as a whole.