On the evening of September 5th, the nearly 90-year-old Nanjing Central Mall issued a notice stating that it had received an arbitration notice from the Xuzhou Arbitration Commission. The company was sued by Xuzhou Herui Property Asset Management Co., Ltd. for lease contract disputes, with a total claim of 51.995 million yuan (RMB). This arbitration request comes at a time when the operation of the Central Mall is facing continued pressure.
According to the company’s semi-annual report released recently for the first half of 2025, the Central Mall saw a year-on-year decline of 11.96% in operating income to 1.168 billion yuan, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies turned from a profit to a loss. Over the past three years, the Central Mall has been in a state of continuous losses.
The dispute involved in the arbitration stems from the lease contract signed on September 10, 2018, and subsequent supplementary agreements between the two parties. According to the agreement, the Central Mall leased properties in Xuzhou for a period of 20 years. In 2022 and 2023, two additional agreements were signed adjusting the rent standards and payment methods.
It was agreed that rent must be paid quarterly in advance. However, the Central Mall was accused of not only failing to pay the quarterly rent by June 3, 2025, but also failing to settle the historical arrears of 1.6 million yuan by June 17, 2025, as required by the supplementary agreement, and also not paying the profit sharing of certain floors.
After several unsuccessful collection attempts, Xuzhou Herui pointed out that the Central Mall had seriously breached the contract. The rent incentives previously enjoyed were automatically canceled, and the rent standards were restored to the original level of the supplementary agreement. As of September 17, 2025, the Central Mall owed a total of 51.995 million yuan in unpaid rent. The applicant requested the respondent to immediately pay the full amount owed, bear the arbitration-related expenses, and also reserved the right to claim a late payment interest of 15%.
Official records show that Nanjing Central Mall (Group) Co., Ltd., abbreviated as “Central Mall,” was founded in 1936 by social celebrities such as Zhang Jingjiang, Zeng Yangfu, and Mao Yisheng, becoming the first large comprehensive mall in Nanjing during the “Industrial Salvation” movement at that time.
Today, the Central Mall has a history of 89 years. In 1993, it became the first corporate listed company in Jiangsu Province. In 2000, the Central Mall was officially listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In 2005, Yurun Group acquired Nanjing Zhongshang, becoming its largest shareholder.
In recent years, the group has developed 18 branch stores in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Shandong, Hubei, and other regions through new construction and mergers and acquisitions.
In addition to the arbitration disputes, the operational status of the Central Mall is equally concerning, as indicated by its recent semi-annual report for 2025 showing a 11.96% decrease in operating income and a 191.95% decrease in net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in the first half of the year.
Regionally, the Central Mall saw a decline in operating income in Jiangsu, Henan, and Shandong by 14.04%, 13.80%, and 11.39% respectively.
In the capital market, the stock price of the Central Mall has been fluctuating. On September 5th, the Central Mall closed at 3.69 yuan, down by 1.34%.