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After nearly 39 years in operation, department store operator Isetan will be closing its Parkway Parade outlet permanently once its lease ends on Mar. 9, 2022.

Isetan said the outlet's lease had been extended for 15 months after the end of the previous term, Business Times reported.

However, negotiations with the landlord, Prime Asset Holdings Limited, for another extension "did not yield a positive result".

No plans for another outlet

Isetan Katong first opened in 1983.

It was the Japanese department store's third outlet in Singapore, and marked its first foray into the heartlands.

Currently, Isetan said it has no immediate plans to open a replacement outlet, but that it would continue to maintain operations at its remaining outlets at Shaw House, Tampines Mall and NEX.

According to BT, the company also said it is unable to estimate the financial effect of the impending closure of the Katong outlet at this point in time.

In December 2019, Isetan closed its Westgate outlet when its lease expired as well.

The store opened in 2013 but was making losses, which caused negotiations for a lease renewal between the department store and Westgate's landlord JG Trustee to fall through, The Straits Times reported.

Recovery in 2021

BT reported that Isetan generated profits of S$1.3 million in the first half of 2021, as opposed to the same period in 2020 where it incurred a net loss of S$317,000.

Additionally, its revenue of S$38.4 million for the six-month period in 2021 was 12.8 per cent higher than its revenue of S$34 million during the same period in 2020.

The losses in 2020 were a result of the circuit breaker, where stores were forced to close.

However, Isetan told BT that it foresees sales and revenue to be affected negatively in the coming months by Covid-19.

Its recovery in early 2021 had already been disrupted by the implementation of safe management measures for Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).

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