Today (June 30), Isetan Department Store in Meilong Town on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai will officially come to an end, and the "Thanksgiving Poster" has been hung at the door, and the farewell ceremony is full of feelings. There are also countdown signs and signs for thanksgiving encounters in the store.
Image source: Shangguan News
Many Shanghainese have a deep affection for this department store, which has been open for more than 20 years.
Clearance before closing: The goods are basically 5% off
There are many more two-fold and three-fold ones
On March 25 this year, Isetan Department Store in Shanghai Westgate announced that it would close its business on June 30.
According to Yicai, in this regard, some Isetan insiders said that the reason for closing the store is the expiration of the lease, in fact, the company has basically determined last year that it will close the store after the lease expires this year.
Although facing the closure of the store, it is not only reluctant, but also clearance and unprecedented discounts, many citizens have run to pick up the leaks, and the scene is quite hot. The goods are basically five folds, and there are many two or three folds.
Image source: Screenshot of Shangguan News video
Many citizens come here to visit the familiar Isetan one last time, and the whole store is full of warmth. On the big screen at the entrance, customers are even invited to submit their posts with the theme of closing.
During the countdown to the closure, Isetan also filmed a personal short film for the old employees, many of whom have served here for more than 20 years, to tell their stories.
Some netizens watched it and said: "I'm very moved, it's going to close, and I also took a warm little short film for the staff to finish." ”
It has spread all over the country in many cities
Today, there is only one store left in China
According to public information, in 1997, as soon as Westgate Plaza appeared on Nanjing West Road, it amazed the whole city, and the architectural appearance of the mall integrated European design characteristics, elegant and magnificent. The interior extends from the ground floor to the seventh-floor atrium, which was brilliant and bright to the people of Shanghai at that time, like a charming "shopping paradise".
Image source: Shangguan News
For a long time, Westgate Plaza, together with CITIC Pacific, Hang Lung Plaza, Shanghai Centre, etc., formed the "strongest skyline" in Jing'an, especially the "Meiteheng Golden Triangle", which is rarely matched by the prosperity of commerce and the superior geographical location in Shanghai.
Isetan is one of the main merchants of Westgate Plaza, and can be called one of the founders of the status of "the most high-end business district" on Nanjing West Road, accompanying Shanghainese for more than 20 years. As one of the first Japanese department stores to enter the Shanghai market, Isetan used to be a symbol of Shanghai's trendy fashion, and the shopping paper bags printed with the word "Isetan" were carried by Shanghainese people and were used by many people repeatedly.
Time flies, and the brilliance of Westgate Square is fading. In the "Golden Triangle" of Meitaiheng, the leading Westgate Town is not as good as Hang Lung Plaza's performance, nor is it as trendy as CITIC Pacific's remodeling, and has gradually become an "unpopular shopping mall", and its popularity is no longer good. In addition, Shanghai has continued to open new high-end department stores and shopping malls in recent years, and the choice is no longer single, and the old department stores are increasingly losing their competitiveness.
"The memories of the Shanghai generation have gradually become the tears of the times." Many netizens lamented that they bought a lot of "firsts" in their lives here, which can be called memories of youth. However, the reporter saw on Dianping and social media that "deserted", "quiet", "I haven't been there for a long time", and "the former prosperity is gone" are the most common descriptions. "During this time, I will go to Isetan in Westgate again and buy the 'last item' of goods" 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, Isetan Department Store in Shenyang also ceased operations. And in 2022, Isetan also closed down all two stores in Chengdu. At the end of last year, Tianjin Isetan announced that the Isetan Nanjing Road store would be closed on April 14, 2024, and the Binhai Isetan store would be closed on March 11. Coupled with the closure of Isetan in Shanghai Meilong Town, Isetan is the only Isetan left in China as Tianjin Yanlord Isetan.
Image source: Isetan official website
Previously, a number of well-known department stores have closed stores
According to incomplete statistics from One View Commerce, at least 35 department stores will close in 2022. According to the statistics of the Retail Research Center of Lianshang.com, 21 department stores will be closed nationwide in 2023, including Pacific Department Store, Aeon, Parkson, Solution Best, New World Department Store and other well-known department stores that were once popular.
Ito-Yokado, which had been in the Chinese market since 1997, is also closing. It has been closed from more than 10 stores in the Beijing market to its last. Even in Chengdu, Ito-Yokado is shrinking its business network, and the Chunxi Road store, which has been in operation for 25 years, officially ceased operations in 2022.
Shanghai Takashimaya Department Store announced in June 2019 that it was exiting China, but said it would continue to operate after receiving assistance from the owner's company and relevant departments. On Dianping and social media, desertion is still the most common adjective. Perhaps the best performer was Ningbo Hankyu Department Store, which opened in 2021, but this is more of a luxury shopping mall than a traditional Japanese department store, and its success can only be seen as an isolated example.
According to the first financial news, the reporter learned from the interview that department stores were once very popular retail formats, but with the rise of shopping malls and the increase of goods, a large wave of department stores have been impacted, because shopping malls adopt separate stores for each brand, commodity segmentation and brand nature are stronger, and the investment of shopping centers is more diversified and flexible, and the goods are richer. In recent years, with the rise of experiential formats and the Internet, it has impacted aging department stores.
The superposition of various reasons eventually led to the loneliness of the department store. Westgate Isetan Department Store is not the first, nor will it be the last, to close in collective loneliness.