What: Metro will close its Paragon and Causeway Point department stores as it shifts toward smaller, more flexible multi-concept retail formats.

Why it is important: Metro’s restructuring reinforces a broader Singapore trend in which prime retail assets remain valuable, while department-store operators face rising costs and changing shopper expectations.

Metro will close its department stores at Paragon on Orchard Road and Causeway Point when their leases expire, marking a decisive move away from Singapore’s traditional large-format department-store model. The company plans to replace this structure with smaller, more flexible multi-concept stores and is evaluating possible locations with current and prospective landlords.
The shift reflects changing consumer expectations and a tougher operating environment. Metro says the new model will give it more room to introduce fresh concepts, brands, and partnerships while improving agility. The retailer has already been refreshing its offer through collaborations and experiential concepts, including work with Shinsegae International and the launch of SleepLab and MiniMuse.
Financial pressure is also driving the repositioning. Metro’s retail business recorded a US$8.8 million net loss for the year ended March 31, citing lower revenue, weaker margins, and impairment charges. Meanwhile, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Paragon’s new owner, is reviewing ways to optimise and reconfigure parts of the mall, including Metro’s current space.

IADS Notes: Metro’s decision to close its Paragon and Causeway Point department stores reflects the continued restructuring of Singapore’s department-store sector, where traditional large-format stores are under pressure from rising costs, weaker margins, and changing consumer expectations. In December 2025, Channel News Asia reported that Singapore’s department stores were increasingly split between resilient destination players such as Tangs and Takashimaya, which benefit from prime positioning and experiential retail, and rent-paying tenants such as Metro, Isetan, and BHG, which face greater financial strain. The pressure is unfolding even as prime retail assets remain highly attractive: in April 2026, Inside Retail reported both the sale of Paragon Mall to CapitaLand for more than $3 billion and the broader divergence between strong investor demand for top-tier malls and operating challenges for retailers. Metro’s earlier Shinsegae partnership, covered by Inside Retail in September 2025, already pointed to its shift toward curated, pop-up, and cross-cultural concepts, making the planned move into smaller multi-concept stores a continuation of an existing repositioning strategy rather than a sudden retreat.

Singapore’s Metro to close two department stores