Despite an economic slowdown, sales of luxury products in South Korea soared in the first quarter of 2015 partly due to recent price cuts by major luxury brands, data showed Wednesday.
Lotte Department Store saw sales of luxury products jump 15.7 percent on-year in the January-March period, with sales of watches and jewelry soaring 27.2 percent. Sales of luxury apparel also rose 20.3 percent.
The on-year gain marks a significant growth compared with the overall 8.3 percent sales growth of the country’s biggest department store chain.
Hyundai Department Store’s luxury product sales gained 8.7 percent over the cited period, also posting a firm growth in contrast with its overall sales, which remained unchanged from a year earlier.
Sales growth of luxury products at Shinsegae Department Store came in at 1.9 percent, relatively lower compared with its bigger rivals, but was still higher than overall sales, which slipped 0.3 percent.
Market watchers attributed the rise in sales to increased promotion and marketing of high-end products, as well as recent price cuts by global luxury brands, including Chanel and Tag Heuer.
Last month, the French fashion powerhouse reduced department store prices of some of its bags by 15-20 percent, citing currency fluctuations. The Swiss watch brand joined the move by slashing its product prices by up to 27 percent. (Yonhap)
