Department store sales rise 10.5 pct in 2009

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- Sales at South Korea's department stores rose 10.5
percent in 2009 from a year ago, government data showed Tuesday, supporting signs
of a recovery in consumption.
Department store sales rose to 21.5 trillion won (US$18.5 billion) last year,
compared with 19.5 trillion won in 2008, according to the data from Statistics
Korea.
"Consumption by high-income earners showed signs of a recovery in the second half
of last year, resulting in a rise in department store sales," said Lee Min-hoon,
a researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute.
But spending at discount stores and hypermarkets grew more slowly, gaining 3.7
percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, the data showed. Discount store sales rose
to 31.5 trillion won while hypermarket sales climbed to 22.4 trillion won.
South Korea's economy narrowly averted a technical recession last year, helped by
massive government stimulus packages. The administration is targeting 5 percent
economic growth this year, which would be the fastest in three years.
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