By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
As more local retailers ramp up their outlets in China, some of the top players expanding into the neighboring country recently took a tally of best selling items.
E-Mart, the country's biggest hypermarket chain, said the No. 1 hit item at its seven China outlets from January-July was the premium liquor Wuliangye (500 ml, 52 percent alcohol), which sold more than 1.1 billion won's worth.
Wuliangye is a traditional drink made up of five grains, including broomcorn rice, glutinous rice, wheat and corn.
Second on the list was the Sea Lion brand of 5 liter bottle cooking oil, which sold merchandise of 659 million won, followed by the high-end 500 ml Jiannanchun beer (519 million won) at third.
E-Mart said a total of four items on the top 20 list were alcoholic, indicating that Chinese shoppers frequent major discounters to purchase drinks at cheaper prices.
Among Korean products, Samsung LCD TV was ranked 11th, ringing up 210 million won in sales.
``Because Chinese consumers have doubts about `Made in China' liquors, they tend to shop for those at more trustworthy Korean retailers,'' said an E-mart spokesman.
However, unlike E-Mart's results, CJ Home Shopping's count shows that kitchen appliances and health-related products sold best.
Its top seller was the mini mixer, which sold about 21,000 pieces, followed by vitamin packs and juicers. Massagers, diaper sets, slow cookers and plastic containers were among others on the top list.