The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2026
Metro Singapore closes its last two department stores at Paragon and Causeway Point
Metro will close its last two department stores at Paragon and Causeway Point when leases expire, ending six decades of large-format retailing.
Metro Holdings · Metro (Singapore) · 2026-07-20
What happened
Metro has been a trusted retail name in Singapore for more than six decades. The homegrown chain built its business on large-format department stores, but by 2026 it operated just two — Paragon on Orchard Road and Causeway Point in Woodlands. Both were the last large-format Metro stores left in the country.
On 20 July 2026 Metro Holdings announced that it would stop operating both stores when their current leases expire, following 'a strategic review of its retail business amidst the operating challenges faced by Singapore's retail sector'. Chairman Tan Soo Khoon said the retailer must evolve alongside the changing retail landscape, and the board believes a more flexible operating model will strengthen long-term competitiveness. Lease expiry dates were not disclosed.
The stores were already bleeding: Metro had reported that weaker sales at Paragon and Causeway Point dragged down group revenue and contributed to another year of losses. The company is assessing the financial implications and expects no material impact on the group's net tangible assets or earnings per share for the financial year ending March 2027. Metro plans to progressively move away from large-format department stores toward specialised retail concepts, and is in discussions with landlords — including Paragon's manager — about new-concept stores.
Why it happened
- The large-format department store model stopped working: shopping habits changed and e-commerce took over routine purchases, and Metro's own stores dragged group revenue into another year of losses.
- Metro held on too long: the exit came only after its stores became a drag, and the planned replacement — smaller specialised concepts — admits the format itself, not the locations, was the problem.
- The industry was signalling the end: Isetan closed its NEX outlet, leaving the Japanese chain with one store, and the department store sector was under pressure across the city-state.
The lesson
A format is not a business: Metro kept running large-format department stores long after their economics broke, and the eventual answer was not a better store but a different format altogether.
Aftermath
Metro will exit large-format department stores once the Paragon and Causeway Point leases expire. The company plans to transition in phases to specialised retail concepts and is in discussions with landlords, with Paragon's manager confirming talks about Metro staying under a new concept. The board expects no material impact on net tangible assets or earnings per share for the year ending March 2027. The announcement came months after Isetan closed its NEX outlet, leaving the chain with one store — a sign of the end of the department store era in the city-state.
Sources
- Mothership — Metro to close last two department stores at Paragon and Causeway Point (2026-07-21)
- The Independent Singapore — Metro to close last two department stores, plans new retail concept (2026-07-21)
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