The concept of a "convenience" store jars with 55-year-old retired doctor Xu Zeng ever since her nearest one, just downstairs from her apartment in Liwan district of Guangzhou, closed.

 

Xu now has to walk for at least 20 minutes every morning to get a bottle of hot milk or steamed stuffed buns for breakfast.

 

"Store closures are common here. There is always a shop closing while another opens," said Xu with a shrug.

 

When she worries about her long daily walk, many foreign retailers are worrying about their business performance in the country.

 

Last year, the world's largest convenience store retailer, 7-Eleven, confirmed store closures in Guangzhou, capital city of South China's Guangdong province, saying it was part of a business adjustment.

 

Even the world's largest retail giant by sales, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, said in March that it will close two stores in April after a business appraisal. One is in Wuxi city and the other is in the city where it has its China headquarters — Shenzhen.

 

In September last year, Home Depot Inc closed all seven of its remaining stores in China after years of financial losses, while Best Buy Co closed its nine outlets in the country in early 2011, after having discovered that their Western business models don't work well in an oriental culture. 

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