SINGAPORE – South Korean convenience store chain Emart24, which opened its first outlet in Singapore to much fanfare in 2022, has closed all its three outlets here.

News of the chain’s closure first broke in a March 18 Facebook post by Singapore Atrium Sale, which announced that the Emart24 outlet at Nex shopping centre had closed.

A photo included in the post shows a mall unit – which appears to be where the convenience store once stood – locked and boarded up.

A netizen commented that she was shocked about the closure, as it had seemed to her that the store had been doing well.

Another said she had walked past the outlet, which was open for business, just a few days earlier on March 15.

Other netizens quickly pointed out that Emart24’s outlets at Margaret Market and Jurong Point mall were also closed.

Checks by The Straits Times found that all three outlets were marked as “permanently closed” on Google.

ST has contacted Emart24 for comment.

The first two outlets of Emart24 opened at Jurong Point and Nex in December 2022.

Its opening day at Jurong Point was greeted with swarms of shoppers flocking to the store for street food highlights, such as tteokbokki, corn dog and Korean fried chicken.

The chain is owned by South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae, with more than 6,500 outlets in its home country.

Outside of South Korea, Emart24 opened in Malaysia in 2020 and has 52 outlets there.