Retail firm Zara will cease operations at The Londoner after December 14, the Times has learned.
Inditex Group, a parent company of several fashion brands including Zara, obliquely admitted that it would only retain the Zara Home store at the Londoner Macao.
At the same time, the company admitted that the closure will only affect stores at the Londoner, meaning that the Zara store at the Venetian Macao will remain open.
The low-profile acknowledgement was made by a company spokesperson in an email response to an enquiry from the Times.
On the other hand, Inditex assured that no members on the sales team were dismissed due to the partial termination of operations.
The reason behind the closure may be linked to the plunge in tourist arrivals as well as the level of economic activity in Macau in the past nearly three years, but the Inditex spokesperson stressed that the closure in fact aligns with the company’s move towards online shopping.
“Inditex Group has been accelerating globally and broadening its forward-looking digital transformation strategy since 2020, reinforcing its e-commerce capabilities and upgrading its stores’ network by means of incorporating the latest sales integration technology and absorbing smaller-sized stores.”
Although the Zara store at the Londoner Macao is relatively large and consists of sections for men, women, and children, the Times was told that it is nevertheless considered a “smaller-sized” store. In contrast, the Venetian Macao store is considered a major or flagship store, despite its similar scale.
The company spokesperson highlighted that “Inditex’s commitment to the Macau SAR will be from now on focused on Zara’s integrated approach through zara.com and its store at The Venetian as well as on the Zara Home offer at The Londoner.”
Regarding the future of team members working at the Londoner store, the Inditex spokesperson said, “Additionally, we must underline that, in the context of this transformation strategy, the Group is offering alternative positions to all staff members in any of the absorbed stores.”
Prior to this closure, the group of companies has already closed several stores at both the Venetian Macao and the Londoner Macao, including the brands Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Stradivarius.
It is noteworthy that international chains, such as H&M, Vivienne Westwood and Agnes b., have gradually phased their physical operations out from the Macau market, despite newcomers to the market such as Muji and Canada Goose.
