---
title: "31 Shopping Malls Closed, 25 Completely Shut Down: Are Traditional Department Stores Digging Their Own Graves?"
description: "The department store industry (specifically the traditional department store format) is accelerating its contraction. This is the result of a weak consumer environment, intensified industry competition, and the pains of business model transformation, evoking both admiration for its past glory and lament for how fast times change. In 2025, according to incomplete statistics from Lianshang.com, at least 31 shopping malls closed, with 25 announcing complete shutdowns. The industry is in a phase of accelerated store closures."
author: "晴山"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2026-02-22"
categories: "Retail Formats"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/z-pKaflQ4gqHysfXnCOWNA"
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citation: "晴山. “31 Shopping Malls Closed, 25 Completely Shut Down: Are Traditional Department Stores Digging Their Own Graves?.” New Distribution, 2026-02-22. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/31-shopping-malls-closed-25-completely-shut-down-are-traditional-departm-4ce52b24/"
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---

# 31 Shopping Malls Closed, 25 Completely Shut Down: Are Traditional Department Stores Digging Their Own Graves?

> The department store industry (specifically the traditional department store format) is accelerating its contraction. This is the result of a weak consumer environment, intensified industry competition, and the pains of business model transformation, evoking both admiration for its past glory and lament for how fast times change. In 2025, according to incomplete statistics from Lianshang.com, at least 31 shopping malls closed, with 25 announcing complete shutdowns. The industry is in a phase of accelerated store closures.

The department store industry (specifically the traditional department store format) is accelerating its contraction.
This is the result of a weak consumer environment, intensified industry competition, and the pains of business model transformation, evoking both admiration for its past glory and lament for how fast times change.
In 2025, according to incomplete statistics from Lianshang.com, at least 31 shopping malls closed, with 25 announcing complete shutdowns.
**Industry in Accelerated Store Closures**
Looking back at the development trajectory of the department store industry in recent years, the trend of declining performance and store closures is evident.
First, from the perspective of store closures in recent years, starting from 2022, the industry has maintained an annual closure count of roughly 20 to 40 stores.
According to industry statistics, in 2022, at least 42 department store outlets closed. Among them, 27 were established department stores operating for over 10 years.
By 2023, more than 20 department store outlets announced closures due to reasons such as property lease expiration, poor operations, or strategic adjustments.
These closed department stores include Guangzhou Tianhe City Department Store Dongpu Store, Hangzhou Jiebai Xinyuanhua Department Store, Beijing Contemporary Mall Zhongguancun Store, Chongqing Department Store New Century Department Store Lichuan Shangdu, Wuhan New World Department Store Wuchang Store, and Pacific Department Store Xuhui Store.
In 2024, according to incomplete statistics from Yilan Business, the department store industry saw at least 41 store closures. The traditional retail format remained in a deep adjustment period that year, with department stores closing due to operating losses, intensified competition, and changes in consumer habits.
Of the 31 department stores closed in 2025, the list includes various commercial projects such as department stores and shopping centers. According to incomplete statistics from Lianshang.com, among these 31 closed projects, 25 were completely shut down, while the remaining 6 (such as Beijing Landao Tower and Shanghai Caoyang Mall) were for renovation and upgrade purposes.
Among the 25 completely closed stores, "old department stores" operating for over 20 years accounted for as much as 58%, such as Xuzhou Central Department Store, which had been open for 75 years, and Zhengzhou China Resources Vanguard Jingsan Road Store, which had operated for 20 years. These closures were due to lease expiration, sustained losses, or strategic adjustments.
Additionally, in 2025, due to lease expirations and strategic transformation, Wangfujing Group closed 5 stores, including adjustments to its traditional department store format.
In the current environment, established department stores are exiting for various reasons, such as property lease expiration, poor operations, strategic adjustments, sustained losses, or property owners selling the premises. For example, Chongqing Far East Department Store, Chongqing Fu'an Department Store, Shanghai Landmark Plaza, Haiya Department Store Nancheng Store, and Hangzhou Xiasha Commercial City all closed because their leases expired and were not renewed.
For many stores, "continuous losses" remain the primary reason for closure.
For instance, Ocean Department Store stated in its closure announcement that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid development of e-commerce, physical store consumption has remained sluggish.
The announcement also noted that in addition to the above reasons, Chongqing Ocean faced the severe challenge of persistently high operating costs. Although the company made various efforts to find solutions, it was unable to reverse the operational difficulties.
Beyond external environmental impacts, traditional department stores face their own issues, including aging hardware facilities, outdated business models, conservative operational strategies, and a lack of attractive brands.
In recent years, many companies have pushed for transformation and upgrading, but when faced with the disruptive impacts of new business formats and channels, they have been unable to respond effectively. When performance continues to decline and long-accumulated problems remain unresolved, closing stores to control losses becomes a necessary measure.
**Continued Performance Pressure**
From last year's perspective, the department store industry's performance pressure has been evident.
According to the 2025 annual performance forecasts released by multiple department store companies in January 2026, Maoye Commercial showed the most significant decline in the industry. On the evening of January 28, Maoye Commercial announced that it expected a net loss of approximately -242 million to -201 million yuan for 2025. In 2024, Maoye Commercial's revenue was 2.716 billion yuan, with a net profit of 37.15 million yuan.
Regarding the loss, Maoye Commercial explicitly stated in its announcement that the core reasons for the loss were threefold: the macro consumption recovery falling short of expectations, goodwill impairment provisions, and the drag from investment property impairment.
Additionally, Maoye Commercial stated in its announcement that its main business is affected by the macro environment, with the retail department store industry still in a bottoming-out phase. Consumer spending momentum and willingness have not fully recovered, further pressuring the company's net profit.
As stated in Maoye Commercial's announcement, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025, national total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 50 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%. However, 80% of traditional listed companies saw profit declines, with the retail department store format being hit hardest. Most companies face the dual dilemma of declining revenue and high costs.
Against this backdrop, consumer spending momentum and willingness have not fully recovered, and consumer habits are shifting toward new models such as online live-stream shopping and instant retail, further increasing the operational pressure on traditional department stores.
From Maoye's performance trajectory, the loss trend is not accidental. Reviewing its performance in recent years reveals a pattern. Starting from 2022, both revenue and net profit declined. By 2024, Maoye Commercial's revenue fell to 2.716 billion yuan, a decrease of 34.8% compared to 2021, and net profit plummeted to 37.15 million yuan, a decline of 91.4% over four years.
Maoye Commercial's declining performance data also reflects the difficulties faced by the traditional department store industry amid consumption changes and market competition.
Similarly, on the evening of January 28, Wangfujing also released its annual performance forecast, expecting a loss for 2025, with net profit ranging from -45 million to -23 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 116.76% to 108.56%.
Wangfujing stated in its report that in 2025, the retail industry is undergoing deep transformation. To respond to market changes, the company continued to promote business format iteration and existing business upgrades. However, due to the time lag between investment in new formats and transformation and the release of benefits, coupled with the impact of certain non-recurring factors, the company's short-term financial performance has faced some pressure.
According to the author's understanding, last year Wangfujing closed 3 stores due to lease expirations and 2 stores due to strategic transformation needs, leading to a decline in revenue compared to the same period. Additionally, rapid changes in consumer habits have caused continued decline in department store operations.
To address changes in the consumption environment, in 2025 Wangfujing promoted business format iteration and existing business upgrades. Last year, it opened 3 new outlet and shopping center stores, 3 downtown and port duty-free stores, and continued to renovate and adjust its department stores.
Because Wangfujing's new business formats and stores are still in the cultivation stage, revenue growth from new stores is not yet sufficient to cover relatively fixed costs. Additionally, the new leasing standard has increased upfront costs for long-term leased stores, significantly impacting newly opened leased stores and renewed existing stores. The company remains in a critical stage of structural adjustment and the transition between old and new growth drivers.
In addition, Nanning Department Store also released its performance forecast on the evening of January 23, expecting a net loss attributable to shareholders of approximately -39.6 million yuan for 2025.
Chongqing Department Store expects revenue of 14.712 billion yuan for 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 14.16%, with net profit of 1.021 billion yuan, down 22.36% year-on-year, and basic earnings per share of 2.32 yuan.
Chongqing Department Store stated that the reasons for its operational pressure are that overall consumer spending momentum and willingness have not fully recovered in 2025, and the retail industry faces challenges and opportunities from the transition between old and new growth drivers.
Facing current operational pressure, frontline workers feel it most acutely. A sales assistant at a department store said that during holidays and weekends, many people visit the mall, but actual purchases are not high, and the average transaction value has dropped by at least 10% compared to last year.
The sales assistant also said that to boost sales, the store held several promotional campaigns throughout the year, but gross margins continued to decline, and some counters experienced losses for several consecutive quarters.
This operational scenario is a true reflection of the pressure on department stores' main business.
**Is There Little Hope for a Comeback?**
"From Japan's experience, the transformation of the department store industry is actually very difficult, almost unsolvable," said Chen Liping, a professor at the Consumer Big Data Research Institute of Capital University of Economics and Business, regarding the persistently pressured department store industry.
Regarding whether the department store industry has any chance of a comeback, Chen Liping believes that department store companies' costs continue to increase while returns keep declining. At the same time, after changes in consumer behavior, demand for goods within department stores has decreased, shifting to cost-effective channels. Although the department store industry has made many adjustments in recent years, the effects have been minimal.
Chen Liping further stated that from Japan's experience, the future trajectory of the department store industry includes, first, contraction—companies continuously shrink from a national scope to central cities, and then to their core "home" regions; second, mergers and adjustments during the contraction process.
"I think China's department store industry will also go through such a stage. It is a painful process, accompanied by store closures and adjustments, and corporate costs will surge," Chen Liping said.
Currently, Japan's department store industry is also at a crossroads and a critical turning point. To keep up with development trends and consumer demands, department stores are continuously making large-scale adjustments to their product mix. Among these, clothing, as a main product category, has seen particularly significant reductions.
Looking back at the 1990s, after Japan's bubble economy collapsed, the country entered a period of deflation. Consumers clearly preferred low-priced products, and the clothing market had to shrink. At that time, incomes did not increase, purchasing power declined, high-end clothing lost its buying power, and consumers noticeably decreased.
On the other hand, the market share of "general merchandise" is rising significantly, including jewelry, art, and cosmetics, which are major procurement targets for affluent classes and inbound tourists.
Department stores, once hailed as the "king of retail," mainly sold mid-to-high-end goods and held a higher share of the consumer market than supermarkets for many years. However, they were later impacted by emerging retail formats such as supermarkets and convenience stores. Since the 21st century, the rise of e-commerce has significantly reduced the status of department stores in the retail industry.
Similarly, from the perspective of the Chinese market, the current downturn of traditional department stores, facing various difficulties, is undoubtedly largely due to the fragmentation of retail channels and the rise of online consumption.
Over more than a decade, online platforms have continuously squeezed the living space of traditional department stores.
"Online shopping and live-stream shopping are so convenient now; physical stores don't have as many product varieties and are more expensive." Changes in consumer behavior mean they rarely go to department stores specifically for shopping anymore.
From diverse online shopping platforms to offline paid membership stores and discount stores, consumer channels continue to evolve, providing consumers with increasingly complete and convenient products and services.
Amid the impact of numerous consumer formats and channels, department stores are losing their appeal to consumers. In an environment where there is no way to turn things around, cutting losses in time may be the most dignified outcome for the traditional department store industry.
**[Moving Toward the C-End] The 11th China FMCG Conference**
**Date: March 16-18, 2026**
**Location: Chengdu, China**


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 晴山
- Published: 2026-02-22
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/31-shopping-malls-closed-25-completely-shut-down-are-traditional-departm-4ce52b24/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/z-pKaflQ4gqHysfXnCOWNA

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