According to statistics from the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, sales of women’s suits in Korean department stores increased by 1.5% in August this year. This is the first increase in clothing sales since November last year. At the same time, sales of men’s clothing also increased by 5.6% compared with the same period last year, the largest increase in the past nine months.
Statistics show that the sales of South Korea’s three major department stores, including Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae, increased significantly by 11.5%, 11.2% and 4.3% respectively in August this year compared with the same period last year. Among them, the sales of Lotte and Hyundai Department Stores in August Sales reached the largest increase since the beginning of this year. The industry believes that although part of the reason for the substantial growth in apparel sales is the low sales base last year, the more important reason is the increase in passenger traffic in department stores. In addition, preliminary statistics show that in September this year, department store clothing sales continued to grow. Since department store clothing sales generally account for more than half of total turnover, the increase in clothing consumption also symbolizes the recovery of the overall consumer market.
