KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway Malls’ sales performance has exceeded expectations after registering a 19 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, supported by a stronger festive quarter and healthy demand for out-of-home dining.
The mall group operator recorded sales growth of 12 per cent in January, 25 per cent in February and 22 per cent in March.
“Sunway Malls is off to a good start, with a strong Q1 providing a strong footing for the remaining quarters,” said HC Chan, Sunway Malls and Theme Parks chief executive officer.
In a statement yesterday, Chan said that the sales growth was largely driven by high growth from the travel-related, entertainment, fashion, beauty, food and beverage (F&B), health and personal care segments.
As international borders opened up, pent-up demand and an uptick in travel saw the travelrelated category’s sales growth skyrocketing by 178 per cent.
Large blockbusters, movie releases and a healthy demand for leisure activities boosted its entertainment segment by 52 per cent y-o-y, while the mall group’s health and personal care segment improved by 21 per cent y-o-y and fashion by 24 per cent y-o-y.
Additionally, the F&B segment has emerged as one of the group’s top 20 sales categories.
“This is in tandem with the growing dominance of F&B categories in recent times where it occupies 25-30 per cent of the total net lettable area.
“This trend is expected to expand further to 35-40 per cent in the near future,” said Chan.
Meanwhile, the mall group operator has recognised several prevailing key headwind themes, including inflationary pressure, labour market shortage, global supply chain disruption, interest rate and tariff hikes which continue to drive business costs up and weigh heavily on margin and profitability for the year.
However, it remains optimistic, given its proven track record, strong branding and network of retail partners, and had continued its expansion mode with the development of more retail space.
The group said that it would conduct an Asset Enhancement Initiative exercise in Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Carnival, and revealed plans to build a mall with a retail space of one million square feet in Sunway City Ipoh, which is expected to be completed by 2025. – BERNAMA
