S.Korea Jan dept, discount store sales rebound on boost from Lunar New Year

Hyundai Department Store Co

29/02/2016 24:10

SEOUL, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Sales at South Korea's department 
and discount stores rebounded in January thanks to spending 
spurred by the Lunar New Year holidays, government data showed 
on Monday.  
    Combined sales at department stores run by Hyundai 
Department Store  069960.KS , Lotte Shopping  023530.KS  and 
Shinsegae Co  004170.LS  rose 9.0 percent on-year, finalised 
data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed. 
    That marked a sharp bounce from a 5.7 percent decline in 
December and wasn't far off the preliminary 9.6 percent gain 
estimated by the finance ministry earlier this month. 
    The same data showed discount store sales jumped 11.0 
percent in January from a year earlier, snapping three straight 
months of losses and bouncing back from a 5.1 percent fall in 
December. 
    It was, however, slightly less cheerful than a 13.4 gain 
estimated earlier. 
    The trade ministry statement said the gains had largely been 
due to the Lunar New Year holiday falling early in February this 
year, which prompted shoppers to start spending in January. Last 
year, the holiday fell mid-month, resulting in the splurge 
concentrated squarely in February. 
    Sales at both department and discount stores were both led 
by food products, which jumped 33.1 percent and 14.7 percent in 
January on-year, respectively. 
 
 (Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) 
 ((christine.kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5665; Reuters 
Messaging: christine.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SOUTHKOREA ECONOMY/RETAIL