Metro to close remaining Paragon & Causeway Point stores after leases expire

Metro will be shutting its remaining two department stores in Paragon and Causeway Point when their current leases end.

The decision comes after "a strategic review of its retail business amidst the operating challenges faced by Singapore’s retail sector", Metro Holdings said in a Jul. 20 news release.

"Metro has been a trusted retail name in Singapore for more than six decades. As the retail landscape continues to transform, it is important that we evolve alongside it," the company chairman Tan Soo Khoon said.

The news release did not state when the leases will expire.

Shift to concept stores

The homegrown retailer explained that it intends to progressively transit from operating traditional large-format department stores towards "specialised retail concepts".

It has been discussing with the landlords of the two malls and more to roll out such concept stores.

"[Metro] has expressed interest in remaining at Paragon under new retail concept stores, and discussions are ongoing," the manager of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT), who operates Paragon, said on Jul. 20, as quoted by The Business Times.

Improve competitiveness

Currently, Metro Holdings is still assessing the financial implications of the transition, and cannot yet quantify the full financial impact on the company's earnings.

However, its board believes this repositioning "will strengthen the long-term competitiveness of its retail business and enhance its ability to respond to changing market conditions".

The company previously reported that weaker sales at their Paragon and Causeway Point stores dragged down group revenue and contributed to another year of losses, according to The Straits Times.