I have tried.
It doesn't close when you transfer hired merchants to a diff. character on the acct. but you can't open another shop because it'll give a message that says your shop is open on another character so you can't open it. However, if you buy a different hired merchant you can open more than 1 shop if you use a different permit for each character.
It doesn't close when you transfer hired merchants to a diff. character on the acct. but you can't open another shop because it'll give a message that says your shop is open on another character so you can't open it. However, if you buy a different hired merchant you can open more than 1 shop if you use a different permit for each character.