Pacific Department Store may exit Huaihai Road

Pacific Department Store, a shopping landmark that has been operating for nearly two decades on Shanghai's middle Huaihai Road, may no longer be around next year.

"The lease contract will expire in 2017 but no decision has been made about the future of the store yet," said a staff from the marketing division of Pacific Department Store's Shanghai head office.

According to the staff, the store is currently undergoing a series of brand adjustments and the final decision will not be announced until late August.

Pacific Department Store, which is under Taiwan's Far Eastern Group, entered the retail market in the Chinese mainland in 1993 and it currently has 10 branches across the country.

The business is believed to have been affected by the rise in popularity of online shopping platforms as well as the competition from the newer, more glitzy shopping malls that have sprouted in the area in recent years.

It was business as usual at the Pacific Department Store during noon on July 5, but it was evident that nearby shopping malls like K11 and Hong Kong Plaza attracted more customers than the old-fashioned store. Some shops on its sixth floor have already shuttered with reasons unknown.

According to the Shanghai Morning Post, there are rumors that the property owner, Shanghai Xintiandi, plans to operate retail space on their own following the end of the lease.