THE Aeon store in Bao’an District will be closing April 30 next year, following the closure of its store in Futian’s New City Plaza at the end of last year. Housed across two stories of the Hongfa Building on Chuangye Road 1, the Bao’an store, which opened in 2012, has been reporting losses for several years, as stated by Aeon Stores (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. Upon the closure of the Bao’an store, Shenzhen will only have two remaining Aeon outlets, one located in Vicity Mall in Luohu District and the other in Danzhutou in Longgang. For Shenzhen residents who grew up in the 1990s, shopping at Aeon stores — previously known as Jusco before a rebranding initiative in 2013 — held a special place in their childhood memories. The group had their after-school adventures in search of unique snacks at those stores. “It’s unfortunate that the Bao’an store will be closing next year,” expressed a local resident surnamed Ye, as reported by the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily. She further added, “I’ve always been fond of their deli section, particularly their sushi and other ready-to-eat foods.” Aeon’s inaugural store in Shenzhen, located in New City Plaza, closed Dec. 31 last year, after serving the city for 21 years. The brand’s other two stores in Futian, one in the Xinzhou area and the other in Coco Park, closed in 2022 and 2017, respectively. The challenges and intense competition faced by traditional retailers in recent years are embodied in the struggles of chain stores like Aeon. Online retailers such as pupumall.com and integrated stores like Freshippo continue to entice customers with competitive prices and swift delivery services. The escalating rents in downtown areas of Chinese cities have compressed the profit margins of physical stores. Aeon, short for “Japan United Stores Company” in Japanese, entered the Chinese market in 1987 with its first store under the Jusco brand in Hong Kong. Following this, it established a flagship store in TeeMall (Tianhecheng), Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, in 1996. Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1994, the company’s stock price peaked at over HK$20 (US$2.57) per share in 2012. However, due to poor performance in its core business, Aeon’s stock price plummeted to below HK$1 per share in October 2022, currently trading around HK$0.4 per share. Trying to replicate the success of Pinduoduo by targeting second- and third-tier cities, Aeon inaugurated its first mall in Changsha, Hunan Province, in September. Aeon aims to open seven more stores in Hunan and Hubei provinces by 2023 as it pivots towards focusing on “inland cities with greater growth potential,” according to a company statement. (Li Dan) | 