South Korean department stores see record foreign sales, nearing 1 trillion won annually

South Korea's three major department store chains have reported record-breaking sales from foreign customers in the first half of 2024. This surge is attributed to a significant increase in inbound tourism and the weakening South Korean won, which has made luxury goods more attractive to international shoppers. Lotte Department Store announced that its foreign customer sales reached 640 billion won in the first half, a new semi-annual record and nearly matching its total foreign sales of 734.8 billion won for the entire previous year. The store anticipates exceeding 1 trillion won in annual foreign sales if current trends continue. Shinsegae Department Store also saw a substantial rise, with foreign customer sales jumping 120% year-on-year to 580 billion won in the first half. This figure represents 90% of its total foreign sales from last year, leading to expectations that Shinsegae will also surpass 1 trillion won in foreign sales for the first time this year. Hyundai Department Store recorded approximately 500 billion won in foreign sales during the same period, approaching its total of about 700 billion won from the previous year. The growing contribution of foreign customers to overall sales highlights the sector's reliance on international spending.