A home care solution manager of LG Electronics Inc. changes filters of a water purifier in this photo provided by the firm on March 3, 2019.
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The home appliances industry showed poor performance in the third quarter this year due to a drop in demand. The rental market, which had been seeing exponential growth, has also taken a hit.
Coway Co. reported 968 billion won in sales (US$733 million) and 165 billion won in operating profits, slight increases of 3.8 percent and 0.8 percent from last year.
SK Magic Co. generated 260 billion won in sales and 5.3 billion won in operating profits, decreases of 5.7 percent and 77.1 percent, respectively, from last year.
It is common for rental customers to engage in a yearly subscription, which slows down the rental industry from being exposed to the impact of an economic downturn.
Even so, the rental industry, too, is starting to feel the impacts of the economic slump.
The home appliance market has been stagnating this year. For six consecutive months from March to September, the market has seen poorer performance than last year.
“Home appliances won’t be able to evade the stagnating demand unless it is an absolutely essential product,” an industry source said. “We expect worse in the fourth quarter and next year.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
