Parkson: Bigger retail space, new outlets in store

By BUSINESS TIMES

DEPARTMENT store operator Parkson Corp Sdn Bhd will have an additional 934,000 sq ft of retail space by 2009 as it opens six stores and expands two of its existing outlets.

Parkson now has 33 outlets nationwide with a total retail area measuring 2.6 million sq ft.

Chief operating officer Toh Peng Koon said these openings are those that have been confirmed and there will in fact be more to come as it negotiates with shopping complex owners.

“There will be more. We negotiate with 90 per cent of the malls that have been planned for opening,” he said. However, as all negotiations go, only a few will materialise in the end.

This Lion Group’s retail arm last opening here was in October of 2005 in Alamanda, Putrajaya.

This year will see the retailer opening at Sunway Carnival, Prai; the Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur; Kota Baru Trade Centre (KBTC), Kelantan; and Spring in Kuching, Sarawak.

Parkson Pavilion’s opening this September will be its largest retail outlet at 242,000 sq ft, twice the size of Parkson KLCC.

“Our outlet in Sunway Pyramid is being relocated and we will have an additional 20,000 sq ft,” Toh said.

“In end-2008, we have confirmed to relocate our Miri outlet to bigger premises at the new wing of Bintang Plaza. The new area is more than twice the existing size. The new outlet will have an area measuring 146,000 sq ft,” he added.

No new openings have been confirmed for 2008.

In 2009, Parkson will be the anchor tenant at KK Times Square occupying some 140,000 sq ft of space.

That year will also see Parkson make its maiden move into shopping complex management. It will manage a one million sq ft shopping complex on Jalan Genting Klang and run a 140,000 sq ft Parkson outlet there.

On the performance of the retailer this financial year ending June 30 2008, Parkson said that it expects substantial revenue growth with the additional new stores. Parkson Malaysia crossed the RM1 billion sales mark in the year ended June 30 2005.

In terms of like-for-like growth, Parkson expects to grow above the industry average for the department store category.

In the third quarter of 2006, department store category posted a growth of 5.4 per cent.