(Yicai Global) March 19 -- China's Goubuli Group has refuted social media rumors that suggested that the more than 100-year-old steamed bun chain is closing all its stores.

Goubuli, also known as Go Believe, just shut down one poorly performing outlet in its home town, the Tianjin-based company said in a statement yesterday.

Netizens on Weibo and WeChat had quickly noticed that business data search platform Tianyancha showed that Tianjin Goubuli Catering Management, a 383-square-meter outlet in Wuqing district, was closed on March 17. 

Despite the closure, the company has otherwise been doing well this year. From January to February, the firm's revenue rose by 38 percent from a year ago, it said. Mid-February's Spring Festival holiday was particularly busy with a 46 percent jump from a year earlier, it added. But its gross profit has slightly declined over the past few years till 2019, according to its earnings reports.

Founded in 1858, Goubuli has a long history of catering in China but its capital market performance has been tumultuous. The firm got delisted from the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, an over-the-counter system, after less than five years since its listing in 2015 based on the firm's "long-term strategic development plans."

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi