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SM Entertainment is building an office in Singapore, which will serve as its headquarters in Southeast Asia. the South Korean entertainment company will also be opening retail stores in the said country as part of its expansion plans there.
SM Entertainment also confirmed that its job hiring in the region has already started. As per CNBC, the company refused to disclose how much it is spending on this expansion project but said shared it is in the midst of recruiting more local talents. It is also looking for local fresh graduates or undergraduates for internship roles.
In addition, the entertainment firm that is also home to popular Kpop groups, including Super Junior, TVXQ, EXO, SHINEE, and Red Velvet, is also launching its retail business in Singapore. For this, it will open several stores such as cafes, pop-up exhibitions, and shops for merchandise.
Once it establishes its Southeast Asian HQ and retail business in the territory, SM Entertainment plans to gradually expand to other countries and operate in more expansive continents, including the Middle East.
The Seoul-based company is one of the leading brands in the entertainment scene in South Korea, and it has already opened a branch in Indonesia. This unit is performing well, and in fact, some of its artists were featured in endorsements after winning partnership deals with local brands such as Mie Sedaap and Sasa for Super Junior member, Choi Siwon, and Lemonilo and Somethinc for NCT Dream.
At any rate, last month, the company’s founder, Lee Soo Man, said that he is also interested in forming a Kpop group in the region and will be called NCT Singapore. He also wants to create new groups or subunits of its NCT boy band, and these will be the NCT Saudi and NCT Tokyo. But while he mentioned these ambitions, it is not clear if plans are being carried out already.
Finally, in a report, SM Entertainment revealed that its new Singapore headquarters would also be managing collaborative projects and businesses in three other Southeast Asian countries, which are Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. The office will be working with the HQ in South Korea for all the projects and for the implementation of plans for the region.
