Singapore department store operator Metro is to close its City Square premises at the end of this year.

The parent company says the store will not renew its lease in the shopping centre when it expires in December.

“Metro’s lease (at the mall) will expire (at the end of) December and the move is part of our plans to consolidate resources in light of difficult trading conditions,” a Metro spokesman told the Straits Times newspaper.

Metro has been hit by the ‘perfect storm’ of Singapore’s current retail climate: a labour shortage, rising rental costs and consumer trends towards shopping online and favouring small specialty stores over destination department stores. Its retail operations lost $1.2 million in the quarter to June 30.

The 56,000 sqft Metro store has been an anchor of the City Square mall since its opening six years ago.  

It will be the second Metro to close this year after Compass Point in Sengkang last month and leaves Metro with just three surviving shops – at Causeway Point, Paragon and its new Centrepoint flagship which opened towards the end of last year.

“We remain focused on optimising our operations and seek fresh retail concepts that appeal to our customers,” Metro’s spokesman told the Straits Times. Read more online here.