Large foreign-owned retail stores are losing share in the consumer market in the Chinese -mainland as the e-commerce industry grows and consumer preferences change, analysts said.
Japanese supermarket chain operator Ito Yokado will close an outlet in Beijing's Daxing district on July 1 after 11 years of operation, a store employee told the Global Times on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
Only four branches of Ito Yokado will remain in Beijing, local newspaper Beijing Business Today reported on Wednesday.
The Daxing store has been losing money, according to the report.
"This can be partially attributed to the boom of e-commerce platforms like jd.com and tmall.com, which are posing a big threat to the traditional retailers," Wang Xinmiao, a Beijing-based marketing expert who specializes in fast-moving consumer goods, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"Online platforms offer a more convenient way of shopping, obviously, and they've started to draw consumers away from traditional players," Wang said, noting that all traditional department stores face this problem.
The closure of the Ito -Yokado unit is one of many similar moves by foreign retailers.
Global department giant Wal-Mart reportedly shut its Mingguang Road store in Chuzhou, East China's Anhui Province, on May 25.
French multinational retailer Carrefour has closed more than 15 stores in the mainland since 2015, including branches in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province and Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, according to media reports.
"As competition intensifies, it is likely that this trend will continue," Wang said.
Ito Yokado's sales in China peaked in 2008, but it has been slow to adjust to changing consumer tastes, especially those of younger shoppers.
"Many domestic retailers have adopted various strategies, such as opening convenience stores, adding recreational experiences and even embracing the online-to-online model, to tap into consumer demand," Yan Qiang, an analyst with Beijing Hejun Consulting, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"Ito Yokado lags significantly behind them," he said.
