Carrefour Closes is Meilin Location: The Landlord Wins Again


NowShenzhen   |   March 27, 2023

THE Carrefour Meilin store will close starting from Monday after 23 years of operation, an announcement from the store Wednesday showed.

In the notice, the company said the closure was due to its expired leasing contract and advised neighborhood residents who have unused shopping cards to consume in other Carrefour stores in the city.

The Carrefour Meilin store had a litigation with the property owner over the leasing contract when it expired in May last year.

In an earlier public notice April 28, 2022, which informed residents that Carrefour’s Meilin store would be closed May 6, 2022 due to contract expiration, the company said its business was still normal during the litigation period with the property owner.

The dispute arose when the property owner, Shenzhen Housing Leasing Operation and Management Co. Ltd., wanted to discontinue the contract when it expired, while the store still wanted to operate.

The Meilinyicun housing compound is the city’s largest housing estate for employees of government agencies and public institutions. Carrefour’s Meilin store is the largest chain store serving the housing compound and nearby urban villages.

It attracted incessant shoppers in the early years, especially during the holidays like Spring Festival, with one netizen claiming to have to queue for 50 minutes to pay for groceries. Some netizens also shared their happy childhood experiences when shopping with parents.

Carrefour entered China in 1995 and took the second place among chain stores in the country with sales of 33.8 billion yuan (US$4.95 billion) in 2010, according to the ranking by China Chain Store and Franchise Association. The number of its stores reached 259 in 2017. However, between 2018 and 2021, Carrefour closed around 80 stores across China and attempted to upgrade its online services and business operation modes.

Since 2022, the company closed four of its decade-old stores in Guangzhou, Nanchang, Chongqing and Zhongguancun in Beijing. The Wanguo store was Carrefour’s first store in Guangzhou, with a history of nearly 20 years.

SOURCE: Shenzhen Daily