Local Stitch x Episode

Localstitch x Episode (SK D&D)

I learned about the merger of the two companies quite early on because I received an email regarding the acquisition from Localstitch recently.

Since 2018, I have personally experienced various sizes and locations of WeWork, Fast Five, and both domestic and international co-working spaces through entry, tours, and visits. Among them, there were spaces operated by mid-sized companies that disappeared, and foreign brands that only operated offices for 20 or more people.

I have been consistently observing the old buildings in downtown Seoul, and the Seoul Station/Namdaemun area I visited in 2018 has been rapidly demolished or renovated in the past few years.

I was hoping someone would revive the building with beautiful old tiles and sashes, and I was so happy to see it transformed into Localstitch Hoehyeon. I was also happy with the brands that have entered (I was happy with the combination because I had many opportunities to see them in various places along with the rebranding of Ilkwang Jeon-gu!), and I liked Localstitch's business direction.

Of course, as an old building, there were many inconveniences when I experienced it directly, as there were many shortcomings in the building itself even after going through the remodeling of the septic tank or the interior.

Localstitch, which I had been interested in, allowed me to visit the branch near City Hall through a 1 DAY tour in early 2024. And in January of this year, I needed an office for a month, so I finally used the [Localstitch Membership], and after using it directly in City Hall, Hyoja, and Hoehyeon, there were common shortcomings. So, after using it for a month, unfortunately, I no longer use the membership.

I needed to utilize the lounge, but there were many inconveniences. Since the cross-sectional area of most buildings is narrow, it was difficult to use the lounge because of lunch hours of 2-3 hours or various food smells and ventilation problems from the morning, like the lounge of a company mainly using each floor, or lunch for users on other floors. Also, seeing the frequent unauthorized use of meeting rooms, I thought it was difficult to manage in many ways, and the lack of active communication from the community managers was also a disappointment.

In the case of Episode, I have been using Epine (Episode Neighborhood) in the Suyu branch from the beginning, and I have been actively experiencing entry tours, IKEA pop-ups, and pop-up markets. Hearing the news of the merger of the two companies, I look forward to their future moves beyond the branches in Seoul, the metropolitan area, and other regions, even to global expansion.

SK D&D embraces ‘Localstitch’, the first co-living company in Korea
2025-03-12

https://www.donga.com/news/Economy/article/all/20250312/131191826/1

SK D&D, a real estate development company, will acquire ‘Localstitch’, which first introduced the co-living model in Korea.
It plans to strengthen its space planning capabilities to gain an edge in the corporate rental housing market and enter the global market.

SK D&D announced on the 12th that D&D Property Solution (DDPS), its real estate operating subsidiary, will acquire and merge with Localstitch

Localstitch is a company that first introduced a co-living and co-working office brand that combines housing and office in Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul in September 2015. It has remodeled old buildings or utilized idle spaces to mainly showcase spaces and services aimed at single-person households. Currently, it operates 22 branches nationwide, including Mapo-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, and Jung-gu in Seoul.

SK D&D plans to improve the quality of corporate rental housing services based on Localstitch's expansion experience.
It also plans to build a ‘living platform’ where you can check corporate rental housing information such as region and price at a glance. The consumer behavior of users secured in the service is expected to be used as basic data for the 1-person housing service to be expanded in the future.

CEO Kim Soo-min of Localstitch will join as an executive of DDPS. The specific department name has not been decided.

With this acquisition, the rental volume operated by SK D&D will increase to approximately 6,200 units. Including the rental housing scheduled to be completed at the end of the year, it will increase to 10,000 units.
SK D&D plans to increase the rental volume to 50,000 units by 2029. SK D&D explained, “We aim to provide a more stable housing environment for tenants in the current housing market where there are many unstable factors such as jeonse fraud.” “We are also considering global expansion.”

https://localstitch.kr