SEOUL, KOREA - The sales of department stores and discount retailers in February 2014 marked a negative year-to-year growth.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy released a report on the sales trend of the nation’s major retail channels, including department stores and discount stores, for February 2014.
The report said that the sales of discount stores plunged by 23.1 percent in February 2014, compared to a year ago.By item, the sales of food, clothing, home appliances, and miscellaneous items fell by 29.3 percent, 21.9 percent, 18.6 percent, and 18.3 percent, respectively.
The sales of department stores and large discount outlets also fell by 2.4 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
The negative year-to-year growth was blamed mainly on the base effect of particularly high sales a year ago. The Lunar New Year’s Day holidays were in February this year but in January last year.
In contrast to the decline in sales of other retail channels, convenience stores saw their sales up 4.1 percent in February 2014, thanks to bullish sales of beverage and processed foods.