[THE INVESTOR] Sales at South Korean duty free stores dropped 2.52 percent in September from a month earlier, data showed on Oct. 27.

Sales reached US$943.58 million in September, compared to US$967.93 million the previous month, according to data compiled by the Korean Duty Free Association.

It said the number of people who visited duty-free stores stood at 4.16 million in September, down 6.7 percent from a month earlier.

Still, sales at local duty-free stores rose 36.4 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier on increased buying by foreign tourists, especially Chinese, according to separate data.

Sales at 50 duty-free stores nationwide came to 8.93 trillion won (US$7.9 billion) in the January-September period, compared to 6.55 trillion won a year ago, according to data compiled by Korea Customs Service.

If the current sales trend continues, annual sales at duty-free stores could top 10 trillion won for the first time this year.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)