Winter has come for physical outlets in age of e-commerce

BEIJING - The closure of a 27-year-old shopping mall in Beijing has sparked sadness that winter has come for physical stores in the age of e-commerce. North Star Shopping Center in the Asian Games Village (Yayuncun) announced its closure Monday. The center is located outside the northern part of the fourth ring road in Beijing.

The shopping mall, which opened during the Asian Games in 1990, used to be the commercial pride of the Chinese capital. It was the first shopping mall to have an indoor elevator for shoppers. It was the first supermarket in Beijing to open its shelves to consumers at a time when purchases were mainly made over the counter. It was also the first store to offer nonstop shopping during the Lunar New Year.

North Star group, a State-owned enterprise, said sales in 1997 were 1.2 billion yuan (about $150 million).