Another old department store is going to say goodbye!

Another old department store is going to say goodbye!

On March 25th, Isetan Department Store in Shanghai Meilong Town announced that it would close its business on June 30th.

According to CBN, an insider of Isetan said that the reason for closing the store was the expiration of the lease. In fact, the company basically confirmed last year that it would close the store after the lease expired this year. As for who will take over the project later, it is not yet known.

Once "stunning the whole Shanghai" netizen: tears of the times

According to public information, in 1997, as soon as Meilong Town Square appeared on Nanjing West Road, it amazed the whole city, and the appearance of the shopping mall was elegant and magnificent, combining European design features. The interior of the atrium extends from the ground floor to the seventh floor, and its splendor and brightness surprised the Shanghainese at that time, just like a charming "shopping paradise".

freestar

Image source: Shangguan News

For a long time, Meilong Town Square, CITIC Pacific, hang lung plaza, shanghai centre, etc., together formed the "strongest skyline" in Jing 'an, especially the "Meitaiheng Golden Triangle", which was rarely matched by its commercial prosperity and superior geographical position in Shanghai.

Isetan is one of the main merchants in Meilong Town Square, and it can be called one of the founders of the status of "the most upscale business district" on Nanjing West Road, and has been with Shanghainese for more than 20 years. As one of the first Japanese department stores to enter the Shanghai market, Isetan was once a symbol of Shanghai's trendy fashion. The shopping paper bag with the word "Isetan" printed on it is a "stand-up" that Shanghainese carry in their hands, and many people will use it repeatedly.

Time flies, and the glory of Meilong Town Square is fading away. In Mei Taiheng's "Golden Triangle", the leading Meilong Town is not as evergreen as hang lung plaza's performance, nor is it as fashionable as CITIC Pacific after its renovation. It has gradually become an "unpopular shopping mall" and its popularity is no longer. In addition, in recent years, Shanghai has continuously opened brand-new high-end department stores and shopping centers, and the choice is no longer single, and the old department stores have increasingly lost their competitiveness.

freestar
"The memories of a generation in Shanghai have gradually become the tears of the times." Many netizens feel that they bought a lot of "first things" in their lives here, which is a youthful memory. However, reporters saw in public comments and social media that "cold and cheerless", "quiet", "I haven't been shopping for a long time" and "the prosperity of the past is gone forever" are the most common descriptions. "Go to Isetan in Meilong Town again during this period and buy the last product" may become a way for Shanghainese to remember the past.

As early as 2008, the first store in the mainland, Shanghai Huating Isetan Department Store, closed its doors. In 2013, Shenyang Isetan Department Store also stopped operating. In 2022, Isetan's two stores in Chengdu were all closed. At the end of last year, Tianjin Isetan announced that Isetan Nanjing Road Store would be closed on April 14th, 2024, and Isetan Binhai Store would be closed on March 11th. Coupled with the closure of Isetan in Shanghai Meilong Town, Isetan only has Tianjin Renheng Isetan in China Mainland.

Previously, many well-known department stores have closed their stores.

Isetan, which is losing ground, is actually a microcosm of the collective decline of today's capital department stores in China.

Although the expiration of the lease is indeed an objective reason, in the industry's view, in recent years, the department store industry has ushered in a wave of closing stores, and a large number of well-known department stores have closed, which actually reflects the problem of the department store format. For example, Shanghai Liubai officially closed its store after its business closed on February 18th this year, just near Shanghai Liubai, and Xuhui Store of Shanghai Pacific Department Store, which has been in business for 30 years, officially closed its store on August 31st, 2023.

freestar
According to incomplete business statistics, at least 35 department stores will be closed in 2022. According to the statistics of the retail research center of Lianshang. com, in 2023, there were 21 department stores closed nationwide, including Pacific Department Store, AEON, Parkson, Jiebai, Dayang Department Store, New World Department Store and other well-known department stores that were once popular.

Ito Yokado, which entered the China market in 1997, is also closing its stores. It has closed from more than 10 stores to the last one in the Beijing market. Even in Fudi Chengdu, Ito Yanghuatang is shrinking its business network, and Chunxi Road Store, which has been in operation for 25 years, officially stopped operating in 2022.

In June 2019, Shanghai Gaodaowu Department Store announced that it was about to withdraw from China, but with the assistance of the owner company and relevant departments, it said that it would continue to operate. On public comments and social media, coldness is still the most common adjective. Perhaps the best performer is the Hankyu Department Store in Ningbo, which opened in 2021, but it is more like a luxury shopping center than a traditional Japanese department store, and its success can only be regarded as an example.

Under the double impact of shopping centers and e-commerce, the whole department store industry in China has been under pressure for many years. Not only are Japanese department stores difficult to do, but even China department stores such as Wangfujing Group are facing the dilemma of revenue growth.

According to CBN, the reporter learned that department stores were once a very popular retail format, but with the rise of shopping centers and the increase of goods, a large wave of department stores were hit, because shopping centers operate in separate stores with various brands, with stronger product segmentation and brand nature, more diversified and flexible investment attraction and richer products. In recent years, with the rise of experiential format and internet, it has impacted the aging department store.

freestar
The superposition of various reasons eventually led to the loneliness of department stores. Isetan Department Store in Meilong Town is not the first one, nor will it be the last one to close down in the collective loneliness.

Isetan in Meilong Town is going to be closed, a generation of memories, "When the door was opened every day, the salespeople collectively bowed to thank them."

Isetan in Meilong Town on Nanjing West Road really wants to say goodbye! On the afternoon of March 25th, official website of Isetan Department Store in Meilong Town issued a notice that Isetan in Meilong Town will stop its business on June 30th this year due to the expiration of the lease. The notice reminds consumers that the membership points and gift cards will expire and stop using on the business termination day, and consumers are requested to use them up as soon as possible. As early as last April, the news that Isetan in Meilong Town would be closed was circulated on the Internet.

Isetan in Meilong Town is located at No.1038, Nanjing West Road, at the podium of Meilong Town Square. Meilong Town Plaza, located at the intersection of Nanjing West Road and Jiangning Road, is a comprehensive office and commercial building, which was jointly developed by Hong Kong (special subject) Hutchison Whampoa Real Estate Co., Ltd., Changjiang Industry (Group) Co., Ltd., Tianfa Qingfeng (Group) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Meilong Town (Group) Co., Ltd. in the late 1990s. The square covers an area of 11,838 square meters, with 30 floors above the ground and a total height of 100 meters. There is a compound parking lot with 400 parking spaces underground. The podium is a commercial part. After completion, Isetan in Meilong Town was introduced.

freestar
Established in 1997, Isetan Meilong Town is the second high-end shopping mall opened in Shanghai by Isetan, a Japanese (special) company. The first one is Huating Isetan, which is located in Huaihai Road.

Isetan in Meilong Town in those days can be described as the top shopping mall on Nanjing West Road. On August 16, 1997, a report in Jiefang Daily said: "Let foreigners feel the commercial characteristics of modern China; China's human body will have the amorous feelings of foreign business, which is the effect of Meilong Town Square, which was officially opened yesterday. This commercial building reflects the combination of Chinese and Western styles from building construction to shopping mall layout, product content and service. "

Isetan, Meilong Town, has something remarkable from the exterior design in the shopping mall to the business philosophy. Meilong Town Square building itself is full of European style and modern design, with light apricot granite appearance and brown aluminum frame, which is soft and elegant. The interior decoration of the skirt building is exquisite and fashionable, extending from the bottom to the atrium of the high-rise building. The splendor and brightness surprised the consumers at that time. At the beginning of the opening of Isetan in Meilong Town, it was proposed that the service and the international advanced commodity display and display should be dedicated to Shanghai citizens. Some consumers remember: "When the door is opened every morning, the salespersons in Isetan, Meilong Town collectively stand in the same place and bow to pay tribute. At that time, such services were rare in Shanghai commercial field. "

Isetan in Meilong Town is one of the representatives of high-end shopping malls in Shanghai. Meilong Town Square, together with hang lung plaza and CITIC Pacific, has been the signboard of Nanjing West Road for a long time, forming the "Meitaiheng Golden Triangle".

freestar
In recent years, hang lung plaza and CITIC Pacific have experienced large-scale adjustment and upgrading. Hang lung plaza has also become the most gold-absorbing commercial office complex on Nanjing West Road, with a tax revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan for two consecutive years. This year, hang lung plaza will usher in the reconstruction and expansion project and build the second phase of Henglong, with an increase of more than 3,000 square meters of commercial area, and its "gold-absorbing" ability will be further enhanced. In 2020, CITIC Pacific launched a large-scale renovation of closed stores. After the renovation, not only the appearance of the mall was higher, but also the brand was greatly changed, striving to build about 80% of the brands, which were the first stores in Nanjing West Road and Shanghai. Isetan, the earliest opening town in Meilong, has changed the least over the years, and its furnishings and brand settings are not so unique. Some netizens said that the goods of Isetan in Meilong town can also be bought in other places, which is not as attractive as it used to be.

Many consumers expressed their disappointment when they learned that Isetan in Meilong Town was about to close. Some netizens said: "There is a generation of memories of youth left here!" "Familiar places, convenient transportation, and sometimes it is very comfortable to visit!"

After the closure of Isetan in Meilong Town, it also marked that the Isetan School basically withdrew from the commercial stage in China. Isetan is a century-old department store in Japan. In 1993, Huating Isetan opened in No.523 Huaihai Middle Road, and in 1997. Isetan in Meilong Town opened on Nanjing West Road. At that time, there were not many high-end shopping malls in Shanghai. Being able to hold a shopping bag with the word "Isetan" was something that fashionable Shanghai girls should show off. In 2008, Huating Isetan left Huaihai Road on the grounds that the lease expired. Today, Isetan in Meilong Town is about to close. In March and April this year, Tianjin Binhai New Area and Nanjing Road Isetan will also be closed.

The city is constantly updated, and the business iteration is renewed. Shanghai's most prosperous Nanjing West Road business district, the "corner" of the "Meitaiheng Golden Triangle", how it will be updated in the future is expected.