Sales at S. Korean discount stores continue to fall in Aug.

By Lee Joon-seung

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- Sales at South Korea's major discount outlets fell for the third straight month in August as fewer people went shopping, a government report showed Thursday.

Total sales at the three leading discount outlets were down 1.5 percent on-year,
following negative growth of 1.4 percent and 6.0 percent tallied for June and
July, respectively, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
"There was brisk sales of summer goods due to the hot weather conditions and a
surge in demand for sanitation products triggered by the new type-A flu scare,
but the overall number of people visiting retail outlets was down 1.3 percent
annually in the cited month," an ministry official said.
Groceries, which make up more than half of all sales, fell 4.1 percent on-year,
contributing to negative growth, he added.
Sales of sporting items, home-related and miscellaneous goods were up while those
for clothing and electronic goods were down 4.1 percent and 0.4 percent,
respectively.
But department stores sales surged 7.6 percent compared to the year before as
shoppers snapped up luxury and miscellaneous goods, according to the ministry.
Those gains were higher than the 4.0 percent jump tallied for the month before
and marked the sixth month in a row that numbers have grown vis-a-vis the year
before.
The ministry report also said that the increase in department store sales was
second-highest this year after a 10.4 percent hike posted in January.
Sales of luxury goods moved up 8.2 percent, followed by gains of 14.9 percent for
miscellaneous products and 11.6 percent for household goods. Grocery sales that
account for about 13 percent of department store sales were up 5.6 percent.
The monthly report, based on sales figures from the Lotte Mart, E-mart and
Homeplus discount stores and the Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores,
is a key indicator of Korea's consumer sentiment.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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