Tue, Nov 25, 2008 page11

• Soju liquor, red lips mark S Korea’s economic slump

  RECESSION-PROOF Aside from low-priced liquor and lipstick, dealers say cigarette and noodle stocks fare well as the public struggles to cope during hard times

  • AFP
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  South Korean women are using more lipstick to put a brave face on the economic gloom, while men are turning increasingly to soju liquor and sex, traders and analysts say.

  Retailers are struggling to shift electronics items, clothes and household goods as the economy weakens, but some items are traditionally recession-proof.

  Convenience store chain GS25 said sales of condoms at its 3,300 outlets nationwide jumped 19.3 percent year-on-year between early August and the middle of this month.

  “Some experts say people seek pleasure to fight stress and shake off anxieties stemming from economic difficulties. I think this theory is backed by the increased sales of condoms,” GS25 spokesman Kim Il-yong said.

  Couples may also be putting off having children until better times, observers say.

  Cosmetics companies said lipsticks — apparently the cheapest way for women to look good in lean times — are also selling well.

  LG Household and Health Care reported a 15 percent increase year-on-year in the sale of lipsticks last month. Amore Pacific said its lipstick sales surged 44 percent in the first nine months of this year.

  “As the economic slump deepens, more women seek colorful items,” LG Household and Health Care said in a statement. “Out of the line-up of basic items, lipsticks are relatively easy to get access to.”

  A spokeswoman for Amore Pacific said the increased lipstick sales might also reflect a change in make-up trends.

  Soju, a popular cheap vodka-like liquor, might be a more potent economic indicator.

  “Koreans tend to give up whisky and beer and satisfy themselves with this economical booze in tough times,” said Yoo Jin, an analyst with Good Morning Shinhan Securities.

  Supermarket chain Lotte Mart said its soju sales last month rose 13.9 percent from a year ago.

  Together with soju makers, shares in cigarette and instant noodle makers are also relatively safe bets in hard times, Yoo said.

  “Cigarette sales are hardly affected by an economic slump as smokers tend to puff heavily, which they believe is a way to cope with stress,” Yoo said.

  When South Korea’s economy was shaken by a credit card crisis in 2003, the total sales of 35 listed food and beverage firms rose 9.1 percent from the previous year, Yoo said.

  In 2003 cigarette sales grew 8.9 percent, instant noodles were up 6.4 percent and soju up 3.1 percent, he said.

  Despite government hopes of stimulating domestic consumption to compensate for declining exports, many South Koreans are becoming more frugal. More office staff are taking packed lunches to work or using the firm’s cafeteria rather than patronizing restaurants.

  The homeless are hurting the most. Operators of free kitchens said they were running out of funds to feed them as donations were dwindling.

  Volunteer Chung Byeong-chang was quoted by the Korea Times as saying that more than a third of volunteers might have to halt their service this winter if the downturn worsens.
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