By Lee Hyo-sik

E-Mart, Home plus, Lotte Mart and other large discount store chains here are struggling to get by these days against a host of unfavorable business conditions at home and abroad.

Consumers here have tightened their purse strings to cope with slower income growth and a sluggish job market, forcing retailers to slash prices and carry out aggressive marketing. Their overseas units in China and other Asian countries are not helping either as they are also scrambling to stay afloat, due to stagnant consumer demand there.

Furthermore, large discount stores are forced to close their doors twice a month, every second and fourth Sunday, under a law designed to boost businesses for smaller mom-and-pop stores and traditional markets, which have lost customers to the retail giants over the years. They were closed Sunday for the first time under the new measure.

In particular, E-Mart, the country’s No. 1 discount store chain, is facing a bleaker prospect as its Chinese business has hit bottom as the world’s second biggest economy expands at a slower pace.

E-Mart earned 3.3 trillion won in the first quarter, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier. Home plus and Lotte Mart saw revenue grow 3.4 percent and 2.8 percent respectively in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period in 2011.

But E-Mart’s operating profits fell 0.7 percent to 205 billion won, with those of the other two store chains either staying flat or dropping slightly.

``Consumers are increasingly looking to buy mostly low-priced items amid sluggish business conditions,’’ E-Mart spokesman Kong Jae-joon said. ``To meet the changing consumption trends, we have tried to offer meat and other fresh products at cheaper prices by purchasing them directly from producers.’’

Kong also said the retailer is marketing a wide range of private brand items, which are cheaper than conventional products. ``As for the upcoming rule that will force us to close every second and fourth Sunday, there is nothing we can do about it.’’

``It is true that our Chinese business has been struggling. We are now studying an array of options to normalize its operation. If conditions are right, we will even consider disposing of the stores,’’ the spokesman said.

Out of 27 E-Mart outlets in China, the company shut 11 money-losing stores last year. The remaining 16 are still in operation but unlikely to make money this year.

``E-Mart has taken necessary measures to restructure its China business. Things will be much better for its Chinese unit this year,’’ said Kim Mi-yeon, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Security.

``On the domestic front, the retailer is expected to see its sales decline by about 4.5 percent, due to the rule mandating it not to operate two days per month. Coupled with stagnant consumer demand, the prospect is not so promising for E-Mart,’’ Kim said.

The discount store chain has also been spending tens of billions of won to prop up its struggling subsidiaries over the past few months. Earlier this month, it injected 40 billion won into Every-Day, formally known as Kim’s Mart. It acquired the small retail chain in May last year.