Malls told to think of shoppers

KUALA LUMPUR: Developers of hypermarkets should consider the needs of shoppers if they want to keep pulling in the crowds.

Regroup Associates managing director Allan Soo said with the weaker market sentiment currently, hypermarkets needed to be more than just “faceless big boxes”.

“There are too many poor quality malls around. Many of them are not well planned or family-orientated. Developers need to change the architecture and not just build a shoe box,” he said in his presentation at the property summit yesterday.

He said many malls were monotonous and had the same problems, such as insufficient parking space, which often deterred people from shopping.

Soo added that developers of hypermarkets should conduct surveys with shoppers before starting construction and not just go by their “gut feeling.”

“Shoppers also should be more vocal about what they want,” he said, adding that hypermarket developers needed to consider issues such as size, location and accessibility.

On another note, Regroup Associates executive chairman Christopher Boyd said hypermarkets should have a different mix of brands to attract a wider audience.

“Every mall has the same brands. This creates mall and brand fatigue. There should be a better mix of new brands, products and merchandise,” he said, adding that there were too few local brands in hypermarkets.

“There aren’t enough Malaysian brands in a conventional mall. All it takes is a sense of adventure and a little bit of skill.

“Alternatively, they can always outsource if they lack the skill.” Soo said.

By The Star