This Year's Sales Reach 2.5 Trillion KRW... Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam Branch Ranks 'World No. 1'

Total Sales Increase by Over 20% Due to Revenge Spending Boom

Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam Branch is expected to become the world's number one department store in terms of sales, surpassing 2 trillion KRW in annual sales for the third consecutive year.

According to the department store industry on the 22nd, Shinsegae Gangnam's annual sales this year have exceeded 2.4 trillion KRW. Considering that about a week remains, the total annual sales are expected to approach 2.5 trillion KRW. Despite the adverse effects of COVID-19 last year, it surpassed 2 trillion KRW in sales for two consecutive years, and this year, riding the wave of revenge consumption, sales increased by more than 20% again.

Japan's Isetan Shinjuku and Hankyu Umeda Department Stores, which have held the world's first and second places so far, suffered a significant blow to sales due to the COVID-19 state of emergency issued ahead of Golden Week in May, and their annual sales are estimated to remain in the low 2 trillion KRW range. Furthermore, due to the impact of the emergence of variant viruses, French and British department stores with annual sales in the 2 trillion KRW range have shown lower sales growth rates than domestic department stores, leading to Shinsegae Gangnam securing the world's number one department store position early on.

Shinsegae Gangnam is known as a 'holy ground' for 'open runs,' where long lines form even before the department store opens, as it houses the so-called three major luxury brands: Herm?s, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel. Including these, luxury brand sales have grown by more than 30% since the beginning of this year, and women's and men's fashion brands have also increased by 20-30%. By renovating and expanding the store into the space formerly occupied by Shinsegae Duty Free, which withdrew in July, it is expected that achieving 3 trillion KRW in sales within the next 2-3 years is possible.