Ito-Yokado to close second store in Beijing

Ito-Yokado Co, a Japanese department store company, said it plans to shut down another store in Beijing, which would be the second in the past three months, domestic news portal 163.com reported Sunday.

Unnamed executives of Ito-Yokado's Beiyuan branch store in Beijing were quoted by the report as telling suppliers that the Beiyuan store will be closed on August 31 due to continuous losses since it opened in September 2009.

The suppliers were informed that they can move to Ito-Yokado's other two branch stores in Beijing but have to accept Ito-Yokado's requirements for store design and decoration unconditionally, according to the report.

Suppliers are reportedly worried that the Japanese carton style which Ito-Yokado plans to implement on the two stores may not match with their own brands and products, and they are also unsatisfied with the compulsory clause.

The Beiyuan store, which is located in -Chaoyang district, will be the second store that Ito-Yokado has closed in Beijing after its Wangjing store was shut down in April, according to media reports.

In the past three years, Ito-Yokado has reportedly shut down four stores in Beijing, and its business has kept shrinking in the market.

Currently, it runs 8 stores in Beijing including the Beiyuan outlet, according to information on its website.

An unnamed analyst was cited in Sunday's report as saying that Ito-Yokado's Beiyuan store is located in an area that is full of competitors but the store has no strong advantages.

Ito-Yokado, which was founded in 1920, is one of Japan's largest retailing companies and entered the Chinese market in 1996, according to the report.

Ito-Yokado opened its first store in Beijing in 2001 and has been too cautious in expanding, the report said.