Store owners at the Parkson Landmark trade centre forced to move at night

The announcement signed by the company’s General Director Tiang Chee Sung, was issued on January 2.

“Since its operation in 2011, Parkson Landmark’s revenues have yet to meet set target," the announcement said. "We’ve realised that several stores at the centre have also suffered big losses. So, after careful consideration by the Board of Directors, we have to inform that the entire trade centre would stop operations immediately on the day this notice was issued.”

The announcement has shocked nearly 200 store owners at the Parkson Landmark trade centre.

Started operation on December 2, 2011, Parkson Landmark trade centre covers an area of over 35,600 squares metres. The five-storey centre that costs USD10 million is considered the biggest of its kind in Vietnam so far.

Recently, Parkson’s retail sale management system in Asia anounced that their profits in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2015 fell by as many as 33.1%, mainly due to modest revenues from the Vietnamese and Malaysian markets.

Nguyen The Cuong, head of the market watchdog in Nam Tu Liem District, said that operations of some stores at the Parkson Landmark trade centre have been temporarily halted recently due to dispute between the lessor, Keangnam, and the lessee, Parkson.

Several store owners at the centre disagreed with the urgent request as Parkson required them to pay off their leasing contract before moving. “We’ve just invested VND2b on our store and our business has started operations for a few months. Such a sudden close would drive us to bankrupcy while our contract is still valid for nearly one year,” one store owner at the centre said.

Some said that Parkson’s land leasing contract with Keangnam might have expired since last December 31, prompting Parkson to come to such a sudden decision.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, deputy director of the Hanoi municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said, “We’ve yet to receive any official proposal by Parkson for their closure. We’ll check this and ask them to make a report.”