Department store sales dip, says preliminary report

Sales at Korea’s top department and discount stores fell in October compared with a year ago, according to preliminary government data released yesterday. It would be the first decrease since July.

The figures point to underlying softness in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy and suggest that little has come of President Park Geun-hye’s efforts to encourage growth outside the export sector.

Sales at department stores run by Hyundai Department Store, Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae last month fell by 1.7 percent from a year earlier, the finance ministry estimated.

That compared with a 2.8 percent rise in sales in September and was the sharpest fall since a 2.1 percent decrease four months ago.

Sales at the top discount stores slipped by 6.4 percent year-on-year in October, the fourth consecutive month of decrease and the fastest rate of decline since a 9.8 percent drop in April this year.

Reuters