Recently, the well-known Japanese lifestyle brand MUJI has announced the closure of multiple stores in China, attracting widespread attention in the market.
According to a report from Phoenix Finance’s “Company Research Institute,” the MUJI store at the Shimao Gongsan Shopping Mall in Beijing is set to close. A light grey closure notice is posted on the glass door, with bold black letters stating “Closure of business on August 31st,” which stands out prominently under the warm yellow light inside the store.
Currently, the store is offering seasonal items at discounts ranging from 60% to 80%, along with special closing deals. Certain clothing items are discounted further by an additional 10% for purchases of 2 or more items on top of the existing discount.
One store employee mentioned, “Initially, this store was quite profitable, but later on, it wasn’t as profitable, especially after a new store opened near Sanlitun. The two stores were too close and affecting each other, so the company decided to close our store.”
Apart from the impending closure of the Shimao Gongsan store, incomplete statistics show that in recent months, several MUJI stores including the Guorui City store in Beijing, the Haishu Impression City store in Ningbo, the Pujiang Joy City store in Shanghai, the Zhengda Joy City store in Shanghai, the Zhenhua store in Jinan, the Pofu Square store in Changsha, and the Taihua store in Suzhou have announced closures.
In response, MUJI stated that these closures are part of the company’s normal operational efficiency adjustments in response to challenges posed by declining foot traffic in certain commercial areas. They will prioritize the profitability of stores with poor operational performance.
In a report by “Jiemian News,” industry insiders analyzed that by closing inefficient stores to lighten the financial burden and concentrating resources on flagship stores with high revenue per square meter, MUJI aims to shift its focus from expanding in scale to prioritizing profitability.
In the Chinese market, MUJI has long faced two core issues: pricing and quality.
Despite implementing 11 rounds of drastic price cuts in the Chinese market since 2014, with some items discounted up to 50%, consumers still perceive MUJI’s prices as relatively high. Furthermore, product quality issues have been repeatedly criticized by customers. For instance, some customers complained about paint chipping off stainless steel pots shortly after purchase.
Due to these product issues, MUJI has faced some penalties.
According to Tianyancha, from 2016 to present, MUJI (Shanghai) Commercial Co., Ltd. has been subject to 13 administrative penalties, many of which are related to product quality issues.
Most recently, MUJI (Shanghai) Commercial Co., Ltd. was fined over 30,000 yuan for selling stainless steel scissors and ultrasonic aroma diffusers (humidifiers) that did not meet the standards and requirements for ensuring human health and safety, and for failing to label the manufacturer’s name and address on the stainless steel scissors as required by law.
According to the latest financial report of MUJI’s parent company Ryohin Keikaku, as of the nine months ending on May 31, 2025, both sales revenue and net profit have achieved double-digit growth. The MUJI China team stated that its directly operated stores and e-commerce channels in mainland China have seen continuous growth for 10 consecutive months, with a cumulative increase of 117.3%.
However, in recent years, the consumer demand in the Chinese market has become increasingly diversified, with a large number of domestic brands emerging. These brands have a similar style to MUJI but are more competitively priced, posing a significant challenge to MUJI.
Whether MUJI can effectively adapt to the intense competition in the Chinese market after these strategic adjustments, and regain the favor of consumers, remains to be seen.