Defunct & closing department stores in Singapore
With the recent announcement that Metro is closing its last 2 outlets in Woodlands and Orchard, many of us may be starting to realise that the number of department stores in Singapore has been dwindling over the years.
But it wasn’t always this way. Our Little Red Dot was once a department store haven – with names like Robinsons, Isetan, and John Little dominating central and heartland malls alike. Over the decades, however, these physical retail giants have struggled to survive due to rising operating costs, changing consumer behaviour, and competition from online retailers.
While a handful of department stores are still hanging on today, many familiar names have already faded into history. Here’s a look back at the department stores in Singapore that have closed or are closing down.
Table of Contents
Brief history of department stores in Singapore
Opening of Yaohan Thomson.
Image credit: The Long and Winding Road
1800s–1950s
Singapore’s earliest department stores, including John Little and Robinsons, were located around Raffles Place, mainly selling imported goods to Europeans and wealthier residents. Robinsons, which opened its doors in 1858, reportedly became the Far East’s 1st fully air-conditioned department store in 1955.
1950s–1960s
Shopping in Singapore gradually shifted towards Orchard Road, led by homegrown stores such as TANGS. Meanwhile, chains like Oriental Emporium made department store shopping more accessible to middle-income Singaporeans.
1970s–1990s
This was a period known as the “department store boom”. Japanese department store chains such as Yaohan, Isetan, Daimaru, and Sogo began to take the stage, and department store shopping was all the rage.
Yaohan’s Plaza Singapura outlet, opened in 1974, was then Singapore’s largest supermarket-cum-department store.
2000s onwards
Many shoppers turned to specialist brands and suburban malls. The rapid growth of online shopping, accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, also dealt another blow to traditional department stores.
As of 2026, only a handful of conventional department stores remain, including TANGS, Takashimaya Department Store, Isetan Scotts, BHG Bugis Junction, and OG.
Department stores in Singapore that have closed or are closing down
1. Metro
Singapore’s 1st high-end department store
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
Originating in Surabaya, Indonesia in 1953, Metro started out as a retailer specialising in imported fabrics for traditional outfits. Fun fact: It was named after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a Hollywood film studio.
The brand entered the Singapore market in 1957 with its 1st store at 72 High Street, before opening Metro Grand at Lucky Plaza in 1978 – Singapore’s 1st high-end department store. Metro also played a role in introducing international brands like Toys’R’Us, Cartier, and Burberry. At its peak, it had a 6-storey flagship store at The Centrepoint, which closed in 2019.
Metro Paragon.
Image credit: Metro (Singapore) via Facebook
Sadly, Metro has since announced on 20th July 2026 that its last 2 outlets at Paragon and Causeway Point will be shuttering, although exact closing dates remain unannounced. This will mark the end of its conventional department store format in Singapore, but thankfully, not necessarily the Metro brand itself.
The retailer is exploring other ventures, including online shopping, pop-ups, and smaller retail concepts, so there’s still a chance that Metro may continue to have a presence in Singapore’s retail scene in a different form.
Remaining outlets: Paragon & Causeway Point
2. Robinsons
Over 160 years of retail history
Image credit: Tripadvisor
The name Robinsons is sure to spark a wave of childhood nostalgia for many of us Singaporeans.
Spicer & Robinson, later known as Robinsons, was founded in 1858 as a “family warehouse” in Commercial Square, now known as Raffles Place. Selling mainly Western imports, it became associated with premium shopping and went on to become the nation’s 1st fully air-conditioned department store.
Here’s something you may not have known: It also acquired fellow department store John Little in 1955.
Image credit: National Library Board
One of the darkest chapters in Robinsons’ history came in 1972, when tragedy struck its Raffles Place building. On 21st November that year, a short circuit led to a fire that destroyed its iconic store and claimed the lives of 9 people. After this disaster, it reopened at Specialists’ Shopping Centre before moving to The Centrepoint in 1983.
Over the years, the department store continued expanding its footprint across Singapore, with outlets at popular shopping destinations like The Heeren and Raffles City.
While Robinsons may have survived wartime bombings and a deadly fire, it was no match for the decline of traditional department store shopping. Its business was liquidated, with its last store closing in January 2021, leaving behind over 160 years of memories.
But Robinsons didn’t disappear entirely. Just months later, in June 2021, the brand made a comeback as an online store, giving loyal shoppers a new way to shop with the familiar name.
Remaining outlets: None
3. Isetan
Singapore’s 1st Japanese department store
Isetan at NEX.
Image credit: Peifang via Google Maps
As most of us would have heard, Singapore recently bid goodbye to Isetan NEX with a closing-down sale. Its last day of operations was on 26th April 2026, after a good 15 years of serving shoppers in the northeast.
Isetan’s story in Singapore began in 1972, when the Japanese retailer opened its 1st overseas outlet beside Apollo Hotel on Havelock Road. It became Singapore’s 1st Japanese department store and soon grew into a familiar fixture in malls across the island.
It then expanded its presence to Katong in 1983, Tampines in 1995, NEX in 2010, and Westgate in 2013. Beyond fashion and beauty, Isetan’s Japanese supermarkets, food fairs, and imported products made it a go-to destination for shoppers looking to bring a taste of Japan closer to home.
However, as with most traditional department stores, it struggled to find its footing when shopping habits evolved and competition from online retailers grew. Its once islandwide presence gradually dwindled, leaving Isetan Scotts as its sole remaining outlet in Singapore today.
Remaining outlet: Shaw House
4. John Little
Singapore’s 1st department store
Image credit: Wikipedia
Long before department stores became staples of shopping malls, John Little was already a household name in Singapore. Founded in 1842, it started as a retail and auction business at Raffles Place, before growing into what is widely recognised as Singapore’s 1st department store.
Screenshot from: Reddit
For younger Singaporeans, however, John Little may be better remembered as the familiar store their parents dragged them through at malls like Plaza Singapura, Jurong Point, and Causeway Point. While they browsed, most of us were making a beeline for the toy section or wondering how much longer we’d have to wait.
John Little’s aisles were filled with everyday essentials like bedding, clothes, and household items, usually accompanied by large sale signs that made it hard for bargain-hunters to walk past.
After being acquired by Robinsons in 1955, John Little continued as the group’s more affordable, mass-market department store. Its outlets gradually disappeared before its final Plaza Singapura branch closed in 2016, bringing 174 years of retail history in Singapore to an end.
Remaining outlets: None
5. Yaohan
The Don Don Donki of the ‘70s
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
Before we had Don Don Donki, we had Yaohan. The Japanese supermarket-cum-department store arrived at Plaza Singapura in 1974, bringing groceries, toys, clothes, household items, and ready-to-eat food together under one roof. At the time, it was Singapore’s largest store of its kind.
For many families, a trip to Plaza Singapura meant a trip to Yaohan. In fact, the department store became so associated with Plaza Singapura that some shoppers affectionately nicknamed the mall “Yaohan”.
Screenshot from: Reddit
Fond memories still stick around, as Singaporeans online reminisce about the cheesecake sold there, with one Reddit user recalling how shopping there with their mum meant getting to visit the arcade with their dad.
Yaohan sadly closed its doors for good in 1997 after its aggressive overseas expansion led to its parent company’s financial collapse. Yet, even decades later, many Singaporeans still remember Yaohan as a familiar part of growing up.
Remaining outlets: None
6. Oriental Emporium
Affordable shopping for families living in the heartlands
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
While many of the department stores catered to the wealthier families, Oriental Emporium was the one many families in the heartlands could call their own. Homegrown and affordable, it stocked everything from clothes and groceries to toiletries and household necessities – including a wide selection of goods imported from China.
With outlets scattered across neighbourhoods, families didn’t have to travel to Orchard or Raffles Place for an all-in-one shopping trip. That accessibility was arguably what made the now-defunct chain most memorable, because the outlets were where Singaporeans who grew up from the 1960s to 1980s spent time as part of everyday life.
Although the chain never fully recovered from the effects of the 1985 recession, its closure on 22nd July 1999 still came as a shock to many loyal shoppers.
Remaining outlets: None
7. BHG
6 outlets at its peak
Image credit: Bugis Junction
Younger millennials and Gen Zs may not remember BHG as one of the country’s iconic department stores, but as the place where they lingered in the children’s section, pressing the buttons on light-up toys.
BHG began as Seiyu Wing On department store in 1994, a collaboration between the Japanese Seiyu and Hong Kong Wing On department stores, and was renamed BHG after Beijing Hualian Group acquired it in the mid-2000s.
There was something comfortingly predictable about a trip to BHG. You’d walk past rows of beauty counters and racks of discounted apparel before inevitably ending up in the toy section filled with Disney and Barbie merch.
At its peak in 2013, BHG operated 6 outlets across Singapore. Over the years, however, its outlets gradually disappeared. Its Junction 8 branch closed in March 2025, while the Bugis Junction flagship was reduced from 3 storeys to 2. BHG now operates from the downsized Bugis store, alongside its website and temporary pop-ups.
While BHG hasn’t vanished completely, its shrinking footprint still reflects how the once-familiar department store experience is slowly becoming harder to find.
Remaining outlet: Bugis Junction
8. Tokyu
3-storey shopping haven for Japanese products
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
Long before Marina Square became the mall we know today, it housed a sprawling Japanese department store called Tokyu.
Opened in 1987, Tokyu occupied 3 storeys and sold everything from fashion and toys to household goods and Japanese food. For families visiting the then-new Marina Square, roaming the department store could easily become part of a full-day outing.
Its sheer size was part of the appeal. Rather than popping into individual shops, visitors could wander from floor to floor, each section offering something different. Singaporeans flocked to Tokyu for a plethora of needs and wants, until the department store bit the dust in 1993.
Metro Holdings then took over its premises, and Tokyu subsequently maintained smaller retail operations before exiting Singapore entirely in 1998.
Remaining outlets: None
9. Sogo
Raffles City’s old icon
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
Those who visited Raffles City in the 1980s and 1990s may remember a familiar sight on its shopping floors: the bold red letters of Sogo.
The Japanese department store opened at Raffles City in 1986 and later expanded to Paragon and Tampines. With its polished interior and large selection of what most may remember as everything under the sun, Sogo represented the modern shopping experience that drew families into town for the day.
A visit to Sogo was rarely just a quick shopping trip. Families could spend hours browsing several floors, kids would make a stop at the toy sections, and a meal afterwards would often complete the day out. As one of Raffles City’s original anchor tenants, Sogo became part of that routine for over 14 years.
However, the company entered judicial management amid financial difficulties following the collapse of its Japanese parent company. Its Raffles City flagship closed in October 2000. Robinsons later took over the Raffles City premises, while Metro moved into its former Paragon space.
Remaining outlets: None
10. Daimaru
The Japanese department store that defined Liang Court
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
For many Singaporeans, Liang Court was not simply known as Liang Court – it was “Daimaru”.
The Osaka-born department store opened its Singapore flagship in 1983, before expanding to Plaza Singapura and Junction 8. Its supermarket and Japanese food offerings became especially well-loved, helping to cement Liang Court’s reputation as a little slice of Japan by the Singapore River.
Screenshot from: Facebook
Families would visit for Japanese groceries, snacks, baked goods, and household items that were harder to find elsewhere at the time.
Daimaru left Singapore in 2003 after around 20 years, as the company refocused on its business in Japan. Meidi-Ya later took over its Liang Court supermarket space, continuing the mall’s Japanese retail identity for another generation.
Remaining outlets: None
Remembering Singapore’s former department stores
Department stores may have lost their place to modern malls, standalone brands, and online shopping, but they were once destinations in their own right. A trip there could mean grocery runs with mum or hours spent wandering through floors of clothes, homeware, and food.
While many of the stores may be gone, the memories they created remain. We may have moved on to new ways of shopping, but there will always be a soft spot for the stores that were part of our growing-up years.
For more nostalgic reads:
- McDonald’s outlets that have closed down in Singapore
- Bookstores we wish were still around in Singapore
- International food chains that have closed in Singapore but still exist in JB
Cover image adapted from: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook, Wikipedia, Peifang via Google Maps