Topten10 reinvents itself with digital-first flagship in Daegu

"This is the store where Topten — which spent the past 14 years focused on expansion and growth — properly begins its transformation into a customer-centered brand, 'Topten 2.0,'" said Shim Pan-seop, executive vice president and head of Topten's TT operations division.

Shinsung Tongsang's SPA brand Topten10 has completely overhauled its Daegu Dongseongno store, a flagship in the textile and fashion hub of Daegu and a key outpost in North Gyeongsang Province. The revamped location marks the first store to embody "Topten 2.0," the brand's new customer-first retail philosophy. Topten plans to roll out the concept to key locations nationwide, starting from Daegu.

The Dongseongno store sits in one of Daegu's prime commercial districts, spanning three above-ground floors and 1,125 square meters of retail space. Surrounded by competing SPA brands including Uniqlo, Musinsa Standard and SPAO, Topten centered its renovation on one question: what does the customer actually experience inside the store?

The most striking change on a visit Wednesday — two days before the reopening — was the store's sweeping digital transformation. Paper price tags have been stripped from shelves and wall fixtures, replaced entirely by electronic shelf labels. Shoppers can tap their phone's NFC function against a label to pull up product details, promotions such as Topten Day deals, and app information. Digital signage now covers key surfaces throughout — the exterior facade, interior tables and columns alike — while product information boards on wall fixtures have been converted to digital information displays. The brand describes the result as its first fully paperless store.

The merchandising layout has also been rethought around how customers move and see. Shelf spacing — previously around 60 centimeters — has been widened to 1.8 meters, and lighting levels and placement vary by zone to show colors and fabrics accurately. Topten calls the new system "System Fixture 2.0." The first floor carries the season's key men's and women's products, the second floor is dedicated to women's wear, and the third floor houses men's, kids' and baby items — a layout designed with family shoppers in mind.

Local Daegu content is woven throughout the store. The stairwells display editorial-style photo shoots featuring local artists and YouTubers set against Daegu backdrops, shot in the brand's Airtech fabric. The first floor spotlights 10 Daegu restaurants handpicked by Topten, while the third floor hosts a collaboration space with local artists that draws on the city's heritage as a textile center. A magazine dedicated to Daegu stories is also available in-store.

Topten plans to upgrade the shopping environment at 27 stores in the second half of this year, rolling out the same combination of digital operations, the new display system and local content seen at Dongseongno. Next year, the brand intends to apply the concept to major Seoul stores in Gangnam and Myeong-dong, as well as key locations across the country.

"This is a store designed from the customer's perspective, not the supplier's," Shim said. "The era of 'Topten 2.0' — centered on the customer — has now begun, and we plan to focus on rolling it out at major locations in Seoul and other large cities over the next three years."