Yamada Denki to shut down Nanjing store

Japanese electronics appliance retailer Yamada Denki Co Ltd will shut down its Nanjing store on June 1 due to its sluggish sales performance, the National Business Daily reported.

Yamada said sales were affected by poor logistics, which forced the company to shut down the store. The company said that an after-sales department will be established to deal with consumers' claims in the future.

The flagship store - Yamada's third in China - covered 16,000 square meters in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and was put into operation in March 2012. It only survived a little more than one year in China.

The company said the store closure in Nanjing would not affect business in its other two stores in Shenyang, Liaoning province, and in Tianjin.

Foreign electronics appliance retailers have been facing difficulties in China in recent years. Germany's Media Markt shut down its seven stores in China in early 2013 citing the highly competitive market environment. Best Buy closed all its nine stores in China in 2011 due to lackluster sales.

Experts said the business model of foreign home appliance retailers is not suitable for the Chinese market, and that the relatively high prices also failed to attract enough consumers.