DFI Retail’s Mannings - known as Guardian in Singapore - pulls out of mainland China

DFI Retail Group’s beauty and health brand Mannings on Wednesday (Dec 17) announced the closure of all its stores across mainland China, citing “consumer behaviour” changes.

The chain, which opened its first store in the mainland in 2004, is a household brand in Hong Kong and Macau, where it has operated for over half a century. It also operates as Guardian in some Asean countries, including Singapore.

Mannings has more than 120 stores in mainland China, with an additional 320 outlets across Hong Kong and Macau.

Its physical stores on the mainland will stay open until Jan 15, 2026, Mannings said in a statement on its WeChat account.

The company plans to integrate its Hong Kong and Macau business’ operations, namely its physical stores and e-commerce channels, with mainland China’s cross-border e-commerce model.

Some analysts have indicated that vendors on the mainland experienced an overall slump in business activity in recent times, amid weaker consumer spending, according to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report.

China’s November retail sales eased for the sixth straight month, inching up just 1.3 per cent from a year earlier, according to official data on Monday. It was the slowest pace since December 2022.

China’s economy has been hit by slowing consumption growth and a deepening property slump.

Rising costs and a lack of scale also affect retailers, too, added analysts. PwC’s China consumer markets industry leader Carrie Yu told SCMP that compared to Mannings, Watsons had a much larger presence in mainland China, with more than 3,000 stores.

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“A critical mass makes a difference because in China you need to invest in your infrastructure and in your systems,” she said.

Nearer home, on Mar 24, DFI Retail Group announced the sale of Cold Storage Singapore and Giant stores, as well as two distribution centres, to Macrovalue (Malaysia) for S$125 million.

The retail operator still owns other consumer brands such as Guardian, which Mannings is known as in South-east Asia, and house brand Meadows. There are over 100 Guardian stores in Singapore.

The Business Times has reached out to DFI Retail Group for comment.

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