(Yicai Global) Nov. 25 -- US retail giant Walmart will close its first Chinese mainland store next month, 25 years after it opened.

The three-floor hypermarket in Shenzhen’s Luohu district will shut on Dec. 7, when the property's owner will start renovation work, a Walmart China employee told Yicai Global yesterday. Opening and closing stores is normal in retail, the staffer said, adding that the firm will open new outlets, Sam’s Club warehouse supermarkets, and cloud data warehouses.

Walmart entered the Chinese market in 1996. Between 2016 and last year, it closed 80 stores in the country, according to statistics. So far this year, it has shut a further 27.

Budget hypermarkets no longer have the advantages of price, shopping experience, and transport convenience due to the rise of online shopping, takeaways, community group buying, and livestreaming sales, according to Li Yingtao, a senior analyst at Analysys.

Large supermarkets such as Walmart are also developing their own online businesses and making adjustments, Li said.

The store’s Luohu premises have some history, according to Wu Rui, director of Savills Shenzhen, the intermediary in the changeover talks. But the surrounding business districts and flow of people have changed, so it is normal for Walmart to make adjustments, Wu said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione