News about malls

On a Saturday afternoon two weeks ago, engineer Shai Gia Wei visited his favourite shopping mall in Petaling Jaya as usual to do the weekly grocery shopping with his wife, and found the trip much easier as not many visitors were there.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Retail groups have questioned the rationale for restaurants with bar service to close by 11pm beginning from today as announced by the menteri besar (MB) of Selangor.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): Local malls are seeing a rise in activity again, with some experiencing a recovery in “footfall” a month into the Recovery MCO (RMCO), reported The Edge Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA (June 12): The average occupancy rate of malls in Greater Kuala Lumpur has remained stable, only falling marginally by 0.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 21): Capitaland Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT) said its earnings in the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 was affected by lower rental income from its shopping malls, following the implementation of the movement control order (MCO).

KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): After reporting lower earnings in its third quarter, analysts are expecting Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust's (Sunway REIT) fourth quarter to be weaker as it registers a full quarter’s impact from the Covid-19 outbreak as well as extended Movement Control Order (MCO).

KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust's (REIT) net property income (NPI) slid by 9% to RM103.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): The Ministry of Health (MoH) says parents or guardians should not take children to crowded places such as shopping malls, despite the declining trend of new Covid-19 cases in the country.

自5月4日生效的有条件行动管制令（CMCO），虽允许大多数商场的商家按照严格的预防措施恢复运营。但有高度传染性的新冠病毒带来的危机不可能在短期内解除，即便行动管制令结束，大马的购物中心的未来将会如何？ 在4月24日举行的主题为“在新常态下，购物商场会门可罗雀吗？”的EdgeProp Malaysia脸书直播炉边谈话会中，三名资深的商场经营者探讨了商场的前景，以及应当如何应对‘新常态’。 他们是大马购物中心协会（PPK）主席兼1 Utama Shopping Centre董事丹斯里Teo Chiang Kok、KIP Group of Companies总执行长Valerie Ong和Sunway Malls and Theme Parks总执行长HC Chan。这次的线上谈话会是由EdgeProp Malaysia总编辑兼董事经理Au Foong Yee主持。 Ong表示，在这个危机的时刻，商场和租户应该携手合作，共渡难关。不过，她也指出，这也给了她的商场管理团队重新检视运营成本和效率的机会。 1 Utama的Teo则表示，不只是在面临危机时，在平时商场也必须不断改变策略顺应购物潮流。眼下，许多商场可能会在接下来的几个月出现较多的未出租单位，因此Teo表示这可能是拉拢本地品牌的一个机会，这同时也能帮助商场实现更大的差异化。 Sunway Malls的Chan认为，商场运营者必须与时并进。“我们都必须适应‘新常态’。未来将属于那些勇敢的，并有创新精神的人。” 未来数月将对商场很有挑战性，他相信恢复的迹象要等到今年年杪或明年年初才会出现，但也取决于抗疫情况和全球金融市场的状况。“虽然疫情打击了经济，导致人们的收入减少，但我相信购买力终将逐步恢复。” 网络购物和实体店的结合速度将因冠病爆发而加速。Chan认为，“通过线上交易，零售商们可以更有效率地运营。但无论如何，商场提供的独特的体验，是不能被网络购物所取代的。” Teo确信，人们会回到购物商场里来。他说，中国为例，相信被压抑的消费将使大马也在行动管制后出现‘报复性消费’。 另一方面，Ong指出，与高档的购物中心相比，主要提供基本商品和服务的邻里购物中心受到冠病的影响较小，并且在之后恢复得更快。此外，她也相信邻里的家庭式小店将在未来的六个月里表现较好。 随着生活方式改变和电子商务崛起，她表示，购物商场需要重新思考空间的使用方式。“现在，购物商场不仅仅是‘买东西’的地方，更成为了人们社交的空间。商场需要在扩大可出租空间和提供社交空间之间权衡。” 建新商场需三思 事实上，在冠病爆发之前，一些商场就已经缺乏人潮。国家产业资料中心（NAPIC）的数据显示，2019年，我国有1,036座商场，净可出租空间达1.

The Covid-19 Movement Control Order (MCO) had been eased into a Conditional MCO until June 9 (at the time this article was written), allowing most retailers to resume operating including in shopping malls, but it is clear that most people remain wary of visiting such public spaces.