April 19, 2024
Retail & Consumer
Korea’s restaurant industry shrinks
[THE INVESTOR] Worsening business conditions are hitting South Korea’s restaurant industry, leading an increasing number of the country’s eateries to shut.
The number of restaurants and pubs stood at 650,000 as of end-2014, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
Given the nation’s population of slightly over 50 million, that translates into one restaurant per 78 South Koreans, with nearly 88 percent employing fewer than five workers.
Market watchers attributed the overcrowded market mainly to a jump in the number of retirees entering the restaurant business.
Another factor is food franchises’ push to increase affiliated stores.
The overcrowded market has made competition fiercer, driving a large number of restaurants out of the market.
According to the statistical agency, 23 percent of the nation’s eateries closed shop in 2014, the highest failure rate among self-employed business areas.
(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
The number of restaurants and pubs stood at 650,000 as of end-2014, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
Given the nation’s population of slightly over 50 million, that translates into one restaurant per 78 South Koreans, with nearly 88 percent employing fewer than five workers.
Market watchers attributed the overcrowded market mainly to a jump in the number of retirees entering the restaurant business.
Another factor is food franchises’ push to increase affiliated stores.
The overcrowded market has made competition fiercer, driving a large number of restaurants out of the market.
According to the statistical agency, 23 percent of the nation’s eateries closed shop in 2014, the highest failure rate among self-employed business areas.
(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
