BANGKOK — Japanese-owned Tokyu Department Store in Bangkok’s downtown shopping area of MBK will close at the end of January, the company said.
The statement released by the firm did not cite any reason for the closure. But a report on Nikkei Asia mentioned several woes, like loss of foot traffic and tourists during the coronavirus shutdown.
The Tokyu MBK has been open since 1985, one of Bangkok’s earlier foreign department stores.
“We sincerely appreciate your patronage for 35 years since opening the store in 1985,” the statement said. “We cordially welcome your shopping with us until the last day of our operation.”
The MBK branch’s closure will mean the end of the department store in Thailand. Tokyu’s branch at Paradise Park mall in eastern Bangkok opened in 2015 and closed in 2019.
Another Japanese department store retailer, Isetan, closed its CentralWorld branch on Aug. 31. Isetan had operated in Thailand since 1992.
Siam Takashimaya at Iconsiam remains the sole Japanese department store operator in Thailand, if one doesn’t count the 24-hour Donki shop in Thong Lor.
