Businesses Producing Winter Items Suffer From Declining Sales


By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter
Biting cold and snow have been missing this winter due to global warming.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said the first 15 days in December have been the warmest on record in 36 years.

In Seoul, the mercury fell below freezing only for four days in the cited period, with an average temperature of 5.8 degrees Celsius, the warmest since 1968.

The warm weather is expected to continue throughout the winter due to El Nino, which is the phenomenon that prevents cold continental high pressure from developing.

``Due to El Nino, unusually high temperatures and frequent rain is forecast, with few cold snaps this winter,’’ a KMA official said.

The unusually warm weather is good news for households as they can save in heating costs. But it is bad news for businesses trying to sell winter items.

The nation is alert over food poisoning and waterborne epidemics, which is typically stagnant in winter due to low temperatures. There was a report that 156 students caught bacillary dysentery at an elementary school in North Chungchong Province in late November.

The disease also infected a total of 55 students at a high school in Pusan early this month.

``It is highly possible for waterborne diseases and food poisoning to break out during a warm winter,’’ an official at the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. ``We are expecting the diseases this winter, too.’’

Although winter is not a season for mosquitoes, the insects are showing vitality nowadays. The KCDC plans to carry out intensive disinfections of sewage systems and other places where mosquitoes breed.

Warm temperatures have been freezing businesses in winter weather industries, adding more burden to the worsening consumer sentiment.

The winter leisure industry has been hit the hard by the cozy weather. Ski resorts have only been partially open since the beginning of the season in mid November, as making artificial snow costs too much in such weather.

Yongpyong Resort has been operating only five of 28 slopes, although it usually operates around 14 in December. It offers a 20-percent discount on ski lift charges to compensate for the partial operation.

The Alps Report is running one of its eights slopes since opening on Dec. 8. Hyundai Sungwoo Resort and Phoenix Park are also open to some 30 percent of their slope capacity.

In contrast, golf-links savored the warm winter weather, which is typically a slack season. Sorak Plaza Country Club in Sokcho, Kangwon Province, said its sales increased 15 percent this month from a year ago. Oak Valley in Wonju, Kangwon Province, greets 300 golfers a day on the weekend and 170 golfers a day on weekdays, some 30 percent higher than previous years, it said.

Winter supplies, including stoves and overcoats, have had difficulty selling. Department stores such as Hyundai, Lotte and Shinsegae, have seen some 20-40 percent decreases in sales of winter coats.

``We have prepared a substantial amount of coats in response to a forecast released in September that this winter would be chilly,’’ a Hyundai Department Store official said. ``Now we are planning to sell winter coats at bargain prices.’’

Hyundai plans a 50-60 percent off sale for coats in January, while Lotte will offer them at a 30-50 percent discount.

Sales of electric-heating mats and heaters plunged by 10 and 20 percent this month from a year ago, an official at Himart, an electricronics outlet, said.

Shinsegae E-mart said ski wear and winter clothes sales fell 10 percent year-on-year in December, while shirts and jackets for mountain-climbing rose 41 percent and 22 percent in sales.

kenbae@koreaitmes.co.kr