InsightsJuly 2026

Metro to close its last two department stores at Paragon and Causeway Point

The entrance to a Metro department store, with its beauty hall visible inside — Metro is closing its two remaining department stores, at Paragon and Causeway Point, once their leases expire.

Metro is winding down its department store business in Singapore. On 20 July 2026, the company told the Singapore Exchange that it will close its two remaining stores, at Paragon on Orchard Road and Causeway Point in Woodlands, once each store's lease runs out. These are the last two Metro department stores left in the country, so the closures mark the end of a format the brand has run here for nearly four decades.

What Metro announced

The decision follows a strategic review of Metro's retail arm. Rather than renew the leases and keep running large department stores, the company plans to step away from that model altogether. It says it will shift to a more flexible approach built around smaller, specialised retail concepts instead of one big shop selling a bit of everything.

No exact closing dates were given. Both stores will simply trade until their current leases expire and then shut. Metro has not said how many staff are affected, and it noted that the full financial impact of the move is still being worked out.

Why the stores are closing

Metro pointed to the pressure facing Singapore's retail sector and to how much shopping habits have changed. Its chief executive, Yip Hoong Mun, said today's shoppers expect something fundamentally different from what a traditional department store offers, and that this has made the large-format model harder to run profitably.

The two stores carry a lot of history. The Paragon outlet opened in 1987, giving it close to 39 years on Orchard Road. The Causeway Point store opened in 1998, so it has run for about 28 years in Woodlands. Both have long been anchor tenants in their malls.

Metro is not leaving retail

Closing the department stores does not mean Metro is exiting the market. The company says it wants to stay in Singapore retail through new, smaller multi-concept stores, and it is talking to landlords about where those could go. It has even signalled interest in keeping a presence at Paragon under a fresh retail concept.

Metro says it will weigh up each opportunity on location, rent, financial viability and how quickly a new store can open. Some of this work is expected to run through its Grand Brands Asia joint venture. In short, the department store name is being retired, but the brand plans to return in a different, leaner shape.

What happens to the Paragon space

The timing lines up with a change of ownership at Paragon. CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) agreed to buy the mall earlier in 2026, and it is now looking at a major revamp of the property. The last big upgrade at Paragon was back in 2009, so the building is due for modernising.

CICT has flagged that it may reconfigure the retail layout, including the space Metro occupies, to create more two-level shopfronts for luxury brands, the kind of large flagship stores that are in demand on Orchard Road. Early estimates put the cost of a full enhancement at S$300 million or more, depending on how far the works go. Nothing is finalised yet, but the direction is a more upmarket, better-configured Paragon.

The bottom line

Metro is closing the book on its Singapore department stores, ending a run that began at Paragon in 1987. The brand is not disappearing; it plans to come back with smaller, more focused stores and may even stay at Paragon in a new form. Meanwhile the mall itself is heading for a refresh under new owner CICT, which sees the freed-up space as a chance to bring in more luxury flagships along Orchard Road.

Sources: Metro Holdings SGX announcement, 20 July 2026; CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust statements on the Paragon acquisition and asset enhancement plans, 2026. Figures on capital expenditure and store history are from company filings and media coverage and may be refined.