Malaysia Will Have Close To 700 Shopping Malls By The End Of 2019
OD on malls!
By Sadho Ram — 25 Oct 2018, 07:55 PM
You may have become tired of malls popping up like mushrooms in and around your neighbourhood, but they are not slowing down
Malaysia will add close to 140 shopping malls by the end of 2019, bringing its current number of 560 shopping malls operating nationwide to 700, NST Online reported.
The report quoted Garry Chua, president of Malaysia Retail Chain Association, saying that the biggest challenge is to fill up space amid the current economic backdrop.
"The occupancy for the majority of the malls in Klang Valley is between 85-87% and that is considered ok if compared with neighbouring countries like Singapore," he said.
And the MRCA president is banking on tourism
Chua thinks tourism is one of the ways to fill the malls, both new and existing.
"The government has to do a lot more in getting tourists from around the world to come here, especially from China. Chinese tourist spends about USD260billion globally. They are the biggest spenders," Chua was quoted as saying by NST Online earlier today.
Garry Chua also thinks the upcoming shopping malls must be "interactive", as in having things like "artificial intelligence where you have robots moving around and interacting with people"
"There should be new dynamics in shopping. Mall owners must keep abreast with the latest trends. Pricing and design must be right, especially for fashion brands," he said.
According to him, other points the developers looking to set up malls should consider are location and connectivity along with security, parking, and cleanliness.
