Sales at South Korea’s major discount chains and department stores rose in October from a year earlier on growing demand, a government report showed Thursday.

Combined sales by the country’s three major discount chains rose 5.5 percent last month from a year earlier, a turnaround from the previous month’s 1.1 percent shrinkage, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

Sales at the discount chains grew across the board. Sports items, food products, household necessities and clothing grew 8.7 percent, 7.5 percent, 4.1 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Sales at department stores also rose 3.1 percent over the same period but their growth rate slowed from the previous month’s 6.5 percent gain, the report showed.

The slowing growth was attributed to sluggish sales of clothing amid unseasonable weather conditions.

Luxury good sales at department stores gained 10.9 percent, with those of children’s sports items and foodstuffs also growing 6 percent and 3.7 percent. Sales of women’s suits shrank 3.6 percent from a year earlier, the report showed.

The monthly report does not provide the monetary sums of sales by the three department stores ― Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai. The three discount chains surveyed are Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Homeplus. 

(Yonhap News)