Sales at Korea’s major discount outlets and department stores rose from a year earlier in June on growing demand for groceries and goods for outdoor activities, a government report showed Thursday.

Combined sales of the country’s three major discount outlets rose 2.7 percent in June from the same period last year with those of three leading department stores rising 8.2 percent on-year, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

The monthly report does not provide monetary sums of sales at Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Homeplus discount outlets and Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores.

Sales of groceries led the sales increase at the discount outlets by moving up 4.4 percent from a year earlier to account for 52.3 percent of all products sold. 

(Yonhap News)