Sales at South Korea’s top department stores and discount stores shrank in June from a year earlier, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on Thursday, underscoring weak private consumption as economic growth slows.
Combined sales from department stores run by Hyundai Department Store, Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae fell by 2.0 percent year-on-year, worse than a 1.2 percent drop initially seen by the finance ministry earlier this month.
Sales at the country’s top discount stores fell 7.2 percent from a year earlier, the sharpest decline since February 2011 but slightly better than a 7.4 percent drop initially estimated by the finance ministry.
(Source: CNBC)