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KUALA LUMPUR: The Empire City Damansara development in Petaling Jaya, which held the “Party of the Century” in January with celebrities like Paris Hilton and K-pop group 2 AM, is delaying the opening of the mall to September 2016, said retailers.

The Edge Financial Daily understands that Empire City Damansara, an integrated lifestyle commercial development encompassing hotels, office space, was initially expected to open its retail component in November or December this year.

Subsequently, it is understood that the opening of the mall with two million sq ft in net lettable area (NLA) was moved to May 2016, in time to capture shoppers prior to the Hari Raya celebrations next year.

“The Empire City Mall’s opening has been postponed to September 2016. Their leasing team is expected to update some tenants soon,” a retailer told The Edge Financial Daily.

A quick check with the leasing department of the mall confirmed the same. When asked why the opening of the mall had been postponed, the officer there said the delay was because some of the international brands had requested for additional time to source from the suppliers.

Interestingly, several retailers contacted by The Edge Financial Daily were of the view that the decision by Empire City Damansara to change the opening date was smart, given the really tough retail environment as well as weak consumer confidence and sentiment.

According to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions dated Nov 3, 2015, consumer confidence index in the third quarter slipped to a 10-year low of 78 percentage points.

This plunge was driven by rising concern over the economic outlook, the declining value of the ringgit and the country’s political stability.

Similarly, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research consumer sentiment index fell to a new low of 70.2 points in the third quarter this year from 71.7 the quarter before.

In August, Malaysia Retailers Association made a fourth downward revision for 2015 retail growth projection to just 3.1% from as high as 6% forecast late last year.

Another retailer who viewed the postponement of the opening positively said, “For this mall, it is best to wait for all accesses to be ready before opening. The accesses opened during the “Party of The Year” proved to be insufficient.”

Empire City Damansara is a Mammoth Empire Group development being undertaken by Cosmopolitan Avenue Sdn Bhd. The group is helmed by Datuk Sean Ng Teck.

The development located along the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong opposite Mutiara Damansara sits on 23 acres (9.3ha) of land. The mall’s anchor tenant will be Malaysian department store operator Parkson, which will take up some 100,000 sq ft in NLA at the mall. Some other names said to be opening there include Coach and The Body Shop.

According to Mammoth Empire’s website, the mall section will also offer an Olympic-sized ice skating rink, a 4DX cinema and a luxury courtyard.

Apart from the retail and office components, there will be two international hotels within the development — a Marriott and an Autograph Boutique Hotel.


This article was first published in The Edge Financial Daily, 23 Nov, 2015. Tap to subscribe for your personal copy.

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