SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Sales at major South Korean department stores increased during this fall’s nationwide shopping festival compared with a similar event last year as more retailers and manufacturers offered wider options for customers, industry officials said Monday.
The “Korea Sale Festa” is the government-led sales event held from Sept. 29 to Oct. 9. It involved major retailers, manufacturers and traditional markets, to jack up the stagnant domestic consumption and attract more tourists during the major Chinese holiday season.
Last year, a similar event was held form Oct. 1-10 under the name of “Korea Black Friday,” benchmarking one of the biggest sales days in the United States.
While last year’s event fell below market expectations due to lack of participants, the number of participants for the Korea Sale Festa more than tripled to 250, and offered a wider range of options and discount rates.’
The biggest beneficiaries of the event were major department stores.
Lotte Department Store, a major chain, said its sales rose 6.2 percent during the Korea Sale Festa period, compared with Korea Black Friday.
Revenue of home appliances jumped 41.8 percent over the period, while furniture and foreign fashion brands surged 38.3 percent and 19.6 percent, respectively.
“A growing number of customers visited department stores during the Korea Sale Festa period. Among them, home appliances, furniture and home furnishing items showed brisk sales,” an official at Lotte Department Store said.
Sales at Shinsegae Department Store surged 9.7 percent over the period, the company said, with furniture and home appliances showing the biggest sales jump.
Hyundai Department Store said its sales increased 4.6 percent, with purchases of foreign fashion brands, women’s clothing brands and living supplies rising, without elaborating on the actual sales figures.
(Yonhap)