The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2016–2026
Hao Mart's 51-store empire shrinks to six — the premium Eccellente line is gone
Peaked at 51 stores in 2021, now six remain: Hao Mart's FY2025 loss hit S$49.6 million, and the last upscale Eccellente outlet closed in June 2026.
Hao Mart · Hao Corp · 2026-08
What happened
Hao Mart was founded in 2016 by Dr Tan Kim Yong, opening its first store at Block 74 Whampoa Drive. It expanded fast — peaking at 51 stores in December 2021 — and stacked formats on top of one another: regular supermarkets and minimarts, an upscale Eccellente concept selling groceries and international food, and a flagship five-storey Taste Orchard mall on Orchard Road leased from landlord OG.
The economics never followed. Hao Mart lost $23.2 million in FY2023, $32.8 million in FY2024 and $49.6 million in FY2025, while revenue fell to its lowest ever at $11 million in FY2025. The footprint collapsed in step: 38 stores by December 2022, 20 by December 2024 — and when The Straits Times visited all 20 listed locations in March 2026, only seven were operating. Rivals moved straight into the vacated sites, with Sheng Siong and Value Dollar among those taking over former Hao Mart premises. ACRA took enforcement action against the company for failing to file its annual returns on time.
By early August 2026 only six stores remained open, and the last Eccellente outlet — Marina Square — had closed in June at a natural lease expiry, ending the premium concept altogether. The collapse now runs through the courts.
OG sued Hao Mart for $6.6 million over the Taste Orchard lease, including $5.6 million of rent arrears; Tan, his wife and Hao Mart countered with a $57.5 million conspiracy claim against OG, which alleges in turn that Hao Mart owed it $73.5 million. Hao Mart sued a PropNex unit and an agent for $3.5 million over the Taste Orchard leasing, and former sub-tenant Belovie sued Hao Mart for more than $445,000.
Why it happened
- The chain scaled store count and format variety faster than any of them could pay for themselves; losses widened every year while revenue shrank.
- Taking a five-storey Orchard Road flagship from a landlord like OG turned a retail bet into a lease obligation the chain could not service.
- The website still listed 20 outlets while only six traded — the gap between the stated network and the real one says the wind-down outran the accounting.
The lesson
Expansion without unit economics ends in the landlord's courtroom: Hao Mart peaked at 51 Singapore stores in 2021; by August 2026 six remain, with a S$49.6m FY2025 loss and five High Court lawsuits.
Aftermath
As of early August 2026, six Hao Mart stores operate in Singapore and all eight-plus Eccellente outlets are closed. The chain is mired in High Court litigation with landlord OG over the Taste Orchard lease, with competing claims running into tens of millions. FY2025 figures were filed with ACRA late, in January 2026.
Sources
- The Straits Times — "Hao Mart shuts stores, sinks deeper into losses with four High Court lawsuits looming", 23 April 2026 (website lists 20 outlets but only seven operating when ST visited all locations in second half of March 2026 — six regular stores plus one premium Eccellente at Marina Square; footprint peaked at 51 stores December 2021, 38 in December 2022; loss of $49.6 million for FY ended March 31, 2025, revenue fell to lowest at $11 million in FY2025; $32.8 million FY2024, $23.2 million FY2023, $2.2 million FY2019; OG sued Hao Mart October 2025 for $6.6 million alleging lease breach incl. $5.6 million rent arrears; Tan Kim Yong, wife Teo Siew Ling and Hao Mart sued OG and its in-house lawyer January 2026 for $57.5 million alleging conspiracy; OG counters Hao Mart owed $73.5 million by October 2025; Hao Mart sued PropNex unit and agent for $3.5 million over Taste Orchard lease misrepresentation; Belovie sued Hao Mart for more than $445,000; Sheng Siong, Value Dollar took over former Hao Mart spaces; founded 2016 by Dr Tan Kim Yong, first store Block 74 Whampoa Drive)
- The Straits Times — "Last of Hao Mart's upscale Eccellente outlets closes at Marina Square", 4 August 2026 (Eccellente Marina Square appears to have closed in June after lease expired; all of Hao Mart's Eccellente outlets have ceased operations; at least eight Eccellente outlets existed; ST visits Aug 1–3 found only six stores operating, in Bedok, Canberra, Pasir Ris, Bukit Panjang, Potong Pasir and Whampoa; website still listed 20 outlets on Aug 4; loss of $49.6 million for FY ended March 31, 2025, third consecutive year of widening losses; five High Court lawsuits; SingLand spokesperson: natural lease expiry, no outstanding matters)
- Vulcan Post — "Hao Mart Shuts Stores as It Bleeds Millions & Faces Lawsuits", April 2026 (13 of 20 listed outlets confirmed closed; peak 51 stores December 2021, 20 by December 2024; FY2025 S$49.6 million loss, up from S$32.8 million FY2024 and S$23.2 million FY2023 following two years of profitability; in the red since 2023 per ACRA records; four pending High Court suits incl. dispute with landlord OG over termination of lease for flagship five-storey Taste Orchard mall on Orchard Road; ACRA enforcement action for failing to file annual returns within six months of FY end; FY2025 figures filed belatedly in January 2026; founded by Dr Tan Kim Yong in 2016, first store Block 74 Whampoa Drive)
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