S.Korea Oct department store sales up 11.4 pct yr/yr

Hyundai Department Store Co

26/11/2015 02:00

SEOUL, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Sales at South Korea's top 
department store chain operators jumped 11.4 percent in October 
from a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday, marking 
the fastest growth in four-and-a-half years. 
    The result bodes well for Asia's fourth-largest economy, 
which currently relies heavily on domestic demand for growth as 
exports to Europe and emerging economies such as China show no 
sign of an early improvement. 
    The rise in combined sales at department stores run by 
Hyundai Department Store  069960.KS , Lotte Shopping  023530.KS  
and Shinsegae Co  004170.LS  was the second consecutive month of 
annual growth and the strongest gain since April 2011, the 
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data showed. 
    Still, the figure was weaker than a preliminary 17.4 percent 
gain in sales reported by the finance ministry early this month. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1342X3 
    Meanwhile, sales at major discount-store chains in October 
fell 0.5 percent from a year earlier, reversing from a strong 
7.0 percent rise set in September, Thursday's data showed. 
 
 (Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Richard Pullin) 
 ((choonsik.yoo@thomsonreuters.com; +822 3704 5580; Reuters 
Messaging: choonsik.yoo.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SOUTHKOREA ECONOMY/RETAIL