Warm Winter Weather Sends Padded-Parka Sales Plunging
Sales of long padded parkas that were all the rage here last winter, especially among teenagers, are declining this season due to warmer-than-usual weather.
Manufacturers boosted output by around 50 percent in hopes of the fad persisting, but demand has been weak.
Garment maker Discovery made 680,000 down parkas, including 400,000 long ones, but only 75 percent have been sold so far, so the rest may have to be mothballed till next winter. A year ago 95 percent of production volume was sold.
At Lotte Department Store's main branch in Seoul's Sogong-dong, sales of outdoor apparel rose only 1.4 percent this winter, one-tenth of the increase last year. One store staffer attributed the sluggish sales to the higher price of padded jackets compared to other winter clothes.
But the main reason is the warmer weather. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration there was only one day from October of 2018 until Feb. 13 when the temperature dropped below -12 degrees Celsius. In the winter of 2017-2018, there were 12.