Foreign and Hong Kong retailers are closing stores in China, impacting the retail and property sectors, according to the South China Morning Post.
Mainland China's retail and property sectors have been hit by a new wave of closures from foreign and Hong Kong brands, reported Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.
High-profile exits include Lane Crawford, Ikea, Triumph, Zara, and Zara Home. Ikea announced that seven mainland stores will close starting February 2. Triumph Group International has shut all its bricks-and-mortar outlets as of December 31. Zara Home closed its last two shops in Changsha and Hangzhou in mid-2025. Sister brand Zara shuttered more than 10 stores last year, primarily in second-tier cities, although it opened large outlets in prime Shanghai locations.
The closures have added pressure on retail property markets. Savills reported that Beijing's premium shopping centre vacancy rate rose by 1.6 percentage points in the third quarter of 2025, reaching 8.6 percent. JLL noted that average rents for premium retail properties in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen fell by 2.4 percent quarter on quarter.