S.Korea March dept store sales seen up, discount store sales weak

Hyundai Department Store Co

08/04/2016 02:00

SEOUL, April 8 (Reuters) - Sales at South Korea's top 
department stores rebounded in March from a decline in the 
previous month, preliminary data from the finance ministry 
showed on Friday. 
    Combined sales at department stores run by Hyundai 
Department Store  069960.KS , Lotte Shopping  023530.KS  and 
Shinsegae Co  004170.LS  were up 4.8 percent on-year in March, 
according to data from the finance ministry. 
    Department store sales fell 1.9 percent in February due to 
distortions caused by a holiday then. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N17202C 
    Discount store sales dropped 7.0 percent in February and 
they are seen falling again by an estimated 1.4 percent on-year, 
the data showed. 
    Meanwhile, sales of cars manufactured in South Korea surged 
18.9 percent year-on-year in March, the fastest rise in five 
months, thanks to the government's plan to extend a tax cut 
scheme for auto consumers. 
    March car sales accelerated from a 9.0 percent rise seen in 
February. 
    South Korea's economy is seeing increasing signs of recovery 
supported by policies like the auto tax cut scheme, improving 
exports and a rebound in sentiment, the finance ministry said, 
but it faces offshore risks like sluggish global growth and 
volatility in financial markets. 
 
 (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