January Duty-Free Store Sales 2.2 Trillion Won... 11% Decrease Compared to Previous Month

January Duty-Free Store Sales Amount 2.0247 Trillion KRW...11% Decrease

The Problem is February...Duty-Free Store Sales Expected to Plunge 60~70%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Duty-free store sales in January this year decreased compared to the previous month, but still performed relatively well.

According to the Korea Duty Free Shop Association on the 6th, duty-free store sales in January this year amounted to 2.0247 trillion KRW, down 11.4% from the previous month. Compared to the same period last year, it increased by 18%. The number of domestic and foreign customers both decreased. The number of domestic customers was 2,223,479, slightly down from 2,247,632 in the previous month. Accordingly, sales also decreased from 337.5 billion KRW in the previous month to 323 billion KRW. The decrease in the number of foreign customers was larger. The number of foreign customers was 1,613,966, down 9% from 1,773,029 in the previous month. Sales amounted to 1.7017 trillion KRW, a 12% decrease from 1.9472 trillion KRW in the previous month.

The problem is February. As the COVID-19 outbreak intensified in February, the number of tourists decreased, and sales are expected to plunge. An industry insider said, "February duty-free store sales decreased by 60~70% compared to the same period last year," and predicted, "There will be a 'performance shock' in the first quarter of this year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.