SEOUL, KOREA - Amid the prolonged recession, the outdoor goods sector has kept enjoying a good time. In major department stores, outdoor gear and clothing items saw their sales rise more than 25 percent, which is slightly lower than the performance for the past few years but still impressive.

 

According to retail industry sources on December 22, the sales revenue of outdoor items for the 11-month period this year in the nation's largest department stores including Lotte, Hyundai, Shinsegae, and Galleria has been 1,361.3 billion won. This is 27.2 percent higher than that achieved in the whole 12 months last year at 1,070.0 billion won.

 

Given there are nine days left until the year's end and the sales of high-priced items such as import parka coats have accelerated of late, the department store operators expect that their combined sales for the year would be in the range of 1.5 trillion won.