--FILE--A pedestrian walks past a Wanda department store of Dalian Wanda Group in Wuhan city, central Chinas Hubei province, 29 September 2012. Wanda Group's reported plans to shut down about 10 underperforming Wanda department stores and restructure 20 in smaller Chinese cities to improve profitability and the popularity of its complexes are a sign of the triumph of e--commerce over off-line stores, experts said. Wanda Group, whose businesses include commercial properties, cinemas, film production, KTVs, and department stores, is planning to close down about 10 loss-making department stores, Shanghai-based China Business News (CBN) newspaper reported on Wednesday (7 January 2015), citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Another 20 Wanda department stores will reduce retail space to provide more room for cafes and restaurants, according to the report. Wanda's department stores have generated 650 million yuan ($104.7 million) in rent for the Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co, Wanda Group's Hong Kong-listed commercial property arm, during the first half of 2014, according to media reports.
