Shopping haven

By The Star

KB Mall is more than just the largest shopping centre in Kota Baru.

LOCATED in Kota Baru, the capital of Kelantan, KB Mall has become a popular shopping haven that is successful and modern. Locals and tourists from Terengganu, Pahang and even Southern Thailand are drawn to it.

Its aims to be the “one stop shopping mall” so it emphasises on convenience for shoppers.

Wholly owned and managed by Y.S. Tang Holdings Sdn Bhd, KB Mall is a joint venture with Perbadanan Kemajuan Iktisad Negeri Kelantan (PKINK).

KB Mall opened its doors in 2004 and has since enjoyed a high occupancy rate of 98% with an average growth of 7.5% per annum.

The Mall is strategically located at the junction of four main roads: Jalan Hamzah/Sultan Ismail/Sultan Yahya Petra/Kuala Kerai and transportation is easily available. The 24-hour CCTV surveillance ensures maximum security and handicap-friendly facilities are also available with vertical transportation, travelators, escalators, user-friendly toilets and lifts from basements to the upper floors.

KB Mall’s anchor tenant is Pacific Hypermarket and Departmental Store, a 2-in-1 concept where a single premise houses a hypermarket, departmental store and home mart. All together there are over 180 retail shops offering fashion and accessories, jewellery and timepieces, cosmetics and fragrances, souvenir and gifts, home furnishing and decoration, health and personal care. The Pacific Group is also found in Alor Star Mall, Batu Pahat Mall and Taiping Mall – the newest of which will open its doors to shoppers in 2009.

The opening of KB Mall has created 2,000 over new business opportunities for local retailers. The shopping mall has created an immense impact on the local socio-economy – new jobs, training and experience are provided to local entrepreneurs.

KB Mall is just the first phase of an integrated building with further expansion plans in the works. It is the largest shopping mall in Kelantan and is not only a success story to the developer but also to the city of Kota Baru.

Practical patronage

KB Mall, the largest mall in Kota Baru, clinched the Malaysia Property Award 2007 in the Retail Development category. It is a prestigious award much sought after by developers as it brings immediate recognition to the property.

Yiap Toon Cheng, General Manager at Y.S. Tang Holdings Sdn Bhd, says that KB Mall is built with practical patronage in mind of its customers and caters more towards user-friendliness even for the disabled, and is not just about fancy framework. A big brownie point awarded to KB Mall by FIABCI evaluators is the Mall’s unique feature of it being built around existing shops.

This is planned with high foresight by the management – there will be minimum disturbance to other buildings within the vicinity when work commences on subsequent phases of development. With a modern layout that is subtle and suits local traditions and tastes, KB Mall is built with a spacious, linear design with high ceilings and maximum visibility through clear unobstructed views. Plans are afoot to further expand the development into an integrated building, with a new business class hotel, service apartments and shop offices. KB Mall will also have a brand new six-hall cineplex and a gymnasium for shoppers to get their dose of entertainment and workouts when expansion plans are complete.