Page 15 - Berita Sunway - Issue 71

Features
ELIVERING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

humans. And this will constantly change, just
as our human response evolves according to the
context of our changing environment and lifestyle.

THE ALLURE OF BRICK-AND-
MORTAR
Despite the weak market condition arising from
the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunway Malls continued
to see a healthy demand for its retail space, bucking
the trend of shop closures with the opening of 200
new shops across its malls in 2020.
Chan attributes the positive response to several
factors – the strength of the Sunway brand, the
group’s mall management track record, and the
growing expansion of Asian retail brands into the
local retail scene.

“We still believe that offline will continue to play a
significant part both in terms of experience delivery
and income generation. Products and services
like leisure and entertainment will become the
staple of physical malls whereas things that can
be commoditised like clothes and shoes will move
online,” said Chan.
Faced with declining footfall during the
pandemic, Sunway Malls launched its ‘Your Safe
Space, Our Safe Space’ initiative to address shoppers’
Automation and data farming is used to TAKING THE LONG-TERM VIEW hygiene safety concerns. The initiative aimed to
further enhance tenant performance, personalise communicate the malls’ hygiene and safety protocols
promotions, improve occupancy cost and analyse It was not always smooth sailing for Sunway Malls during the pandemic.
traffic versus sales conversion ratios. “From a when it came to its digitalisation efforts. The
consumer perspective, this means more relevancy License Plate Registration system, for example, Sunway Malls also launched the #KitaSupportKita
and advocacy. Digitalisation grants precision of experienced unforeseen albeit minor hiccups campaign to help retailers and tenants whose
information and insights to enable better decision- when it was launched in stages to the public livelihoods had been impacted by the pandemic.
making,” he said. Moving forward, Sunway Malls is despite after a year of research and testing.
building e-Sunway Malls, a comprehensive online “Ensuring business continuity and liquidity of
platform to cater to the needs of stakeholders. “Digitalisation is the retailers required a more concerted and holistic
really a work-in- effort. We looked at the financial and social aspects
“The pandemic has accelerated the growth of progress effort that of supporting them. Be it rental rebates, flexi-
e-commerce, with online shopping being exposed requires constant operating hours, voucher support for retail front
to a wider Malaysian market during the MCO at refinement and a liners, sales-driven campaigns or CSR programmes,
the beginning of 2020. It was reported that 48% gestation period. the idea was to ensure business survivability and
of Malaysians increased their online purchases Digital initiatives sustainability,” he said.
during this period and we foresee things that can are not overnight
be commoditised will move online as a natural successes; it is more prudent to take a Chan is optimistic about the outlook of the
progression,” Chan said. long-term view of it as they take time retail industry, as he sees it as healthy and
to be implemented. Consumers need robust. “The business model will be quite
The launch of e-Sunway Malls will provide a full to be educated first for initiatives to different from the one we are seeing today, as
O2O experience for shoppers and retailers. be understood and succeed” said Chan. retail and leisure centres are an extension of the
community. There will be changes in format.
“The physical malls will continue to play a Citing the example of the License Plate High-rise living will continue to gain traction
significant part in experience delivery and income Registration system, Chan said that despite and will predominantly shape demand for out-of-
generation, but e-Sunway Malls is our strategy to having the facility, a small group of customers still home dining and entertainment, as there will be a
integrate online with our seven malls for a cohesive, insist on paying for parking with cash. gravitation towards these spaces,” he said.
complementary customer experience. We want to
deliver the best of both worlds – offline and online,” We must remember that at the end of the day,
said Chan. digitalisation is a medium which reaches out to 15