A Chinese retail chain has started shuttering stores across the nation as it tried to find a new operating model.

Post Mart, a JV between China Post and US-based China Horizon Investments Group, sells a large variety of everyday merchandise, food products and consumer goods and services to rural China. As of end of August 2013, it had 98 directly operated stores and 6000 franchise stores in China.

However, China Horizon Investments Group deputy GM Liu Wei, told China Daily it has shut down directly owned stores in Jiangxi and Shandong provinces.

“Closing directly operated stores is only a temporary move. We will continue to adopt self-run models, but we have to find a better and more mature model,” Wei said.

Rising logistics costs and insufficient purchasing power in rural communities have contributed to the continuing losses of Post Mart, analysts say.