23 related entities, was placed into liquidation in December 2025 owing more than NZ$6 million to creditors, including China Construction Bank, Inland Revenue and former staff. At the time liquidators were appointed, just eight of the group’s stores were still trading; most were expected to close by the end of January, with remaining Miniso and Yoyoso outlets effectively operating as clearance stores and at least one Acecco supermarket already shut due to insufficient revenue. Current reports indicate unsecured creditors are unlikely to see any return.​​ This chain failure sits within a broader pattern. EB Games has confirmed the closure of all 24 of its New Zealand stores, exiting the market entirely as part of a regional restructuring. Smaller cities and regional centres are also being hit, with examples including an 80‑year‑old pharmacy and other long‑standing local businesses entering liquidation or closing their doors after difficult trading conditions.​​ Several factors are converging to drive this pressure. Economists note a disconnect between expectations and reality: many operators anticipated a stronger post‑Covid recovery and invested on that basis, hiring staff, bringing in inventory and committing to leases in the hope of a more robust upturn. As growth has remained subdued and households have tightened spending, those businesses have been left exposed, operating on thin margins and with limited reserves.​ Weak Christmas, strong cost pressures Data on insolvency supports the sense that this is not an isolated blip. Corporate liquidations have stayed elevated through 2024 and into early 2026, and specialists expect the rate of business failures to remain high, or even worsen, before improving in the second half of the year. A key pressure point is tax debt: New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department is carrying around NZ$9 billion in taxes to be recovered and has increased enforcement resources, which is pushing distressed businesses into formal insolvency processes rather than long, informal workouts.​​ For retailers specifically, the 2025 Christmas period appears to have been a turning point. Industry bodies report that December sales were weaker than many operators had budgeted for, despite aggressive discounting that started even before Christmas in some cases. Many businesses had already exhausted cash reserves accumulated during pandemic support years or earlier trading, meaning a soft peak season left them unable to cover costs such as rent, wages and supplier payments at full price. Rising operating costs, particularly rents, are compounding the problem and there is limited appetite or ability among landlords to provide broad‑based relief.​ Labour and employment specialists add another layer: they expect business closures across sectors to remain elevated as higher interest rates, wage costs and compliance obligations flow through balance sheets. In retail, where margins are structurally thin and competition from offshore e‑commerce has intensified, those pressures are particularly high.​ Structural headwinds and the path to reset Policy and structural issues are also in play. New Zealand retailers must comply with domestic regulations and cost structures, but face intensifying competition from global marketplaces and ultra‑low‑cost platforms such as Temu and Shein, which can undercut on price while not always facing the same local compliance burden. Industry groups are calling for measures similar to those introduced in South Africa and France, where levies and regulatory steps are being used to level the playing field for local operators and ensure offshore platforms contribute fairly to the markets they serve.​ Despite this bleak run of headlines, some analysts argue that the sector is moving through the most painful phase of adjustment rather than into terminal decline. Historically, business closures tend to spike before conditions stabilise, as retailers exit and capacity resets to match new levels of demand. There is an expectation that, assuming no major new shocks, the rate of liquidations will gradually ease later this year, although different regions and retail categories may recover at different speeds.​​ For now, however, the picture on the ground is one of cautious shoppers, landlords and lenders, and retailers navigating a difficult disappointment gap between the recovery they planned for and the one that has actually arrived. The wave of liquidations involving brands like Yoyoso, Miniso, Acecco and EB Games is less an anomaly than a visible marker of a wider reset underway in New Zealand’s retail landscape. Further reading: Why Australian retailers keep getting New Zealand wrong.