Developer takes the lead in Malaysia’s retail-lifestyle scene

Night view of the Sunway Velocity Mall facade.

HAVING five successful malls across the nation, Sunway Malls can crown itself as a leader in the industry.

It all began in 1997 with Sunway Pyramid, one of Malaysia’s most significant and iconic retail establishments.

The mall experienced two stages of expansion, the first in 2007 when the company decided to double the size of Sunway Pyramid to 1.7mil sq ft in net lettable area (NLA).

Since then, a further 200,000 sq ft of NLA, including two retail podiums, was added. This appendix is also where the new Sunway Clio Hotel proudly stands.

A brave step forward

“Twenty years ago when Sunway Pyramid opened its doors to the world, it was the largest themed mall in the country. The response from the public was overwhelming," Sunway Malls and Theme Parks chief executive officer Chan Hoi Choy said in an interview.

"A development of such scale and concept was unheard of because most malls at that time mainly focused on contemporary design.

“The design of Sunway Pyramid was intentional and it has assisted in the creation of other offerings within Sunway City which comprises hotels, theme parks, office and commercial blocks, and a medical centre," said Chan.

He explained that the company took a brave step forward in opening the mall at the peak of the Asian financial crisis.

“It was a challenging period for the mall. Though times were tough, the mall managed to secure 85% occupancy.

"To address the soft economy, the mall rolled out many marketing efforts to sustain footfall and traffic.

"However, Sunway Pyramid stood strong mainly because there weren’t many malls like it back then,” he added.

Retail-lifestyle experience

Chan said that when the mall was built, the company focused on the leisure and entertainment aspects, without sacrificing the regular shopping-trade mix.

This move was strategic because the company foresaw a demand for this trade category. Thus the mall introduced features such as an ice rink, a 48-lane bowling alley and an archery centre.

In addition, a convention centre was introduced next to Sunway Lagoon and it has proven to be a good decision.

“We have 180 F&B offerings for convention participants who opt to dine in the mall where there is an enormous selection available," Chan highlighted.

"The F&B component has grown to 25% of the total NLA. This is a key drawing factor for visitors.

“Our integrated car park capacity of 10,000 bays can cater to a large crowd of shoppers, theme park visitors and convention participants.

“Other simple factors that make our mall stand out is the installation of indicator lights to show if parking bays are occupied or vacant. Our mall was the first in the country to use such a system which is now widespread among other malls in the Klang Valley,” said Chan.

“What makes a mall successful? Apart from the right tenant mix and being anchored to an integrated development, it is the synergy and cross collaboration that boost opportunities. Collectively, the effect is amplified,” he added.

Exterior of the Sunway Putra Mall.

Theme park connection

Chan said that the Sunway Lagoon theme park has helped Sunway Pyramid significantly, making the mall stand out among out-of-town and foreign tourists.

“Sunway Lagoon is so popular that it is ranked one of the world’s top 20 water parks, according to 2015 Theme Index report by the Themed Entertainment Association.

“It has drawn an average of 1.5 million visitors annually for the past three years. The numbers present a good opportunity for crossover traffic into the mall and hotel,” Chan said.

Furthermore, Sunway City is connected by an elevated canopy walk for pedestrians to stroll around the area without having to drive. And security is enhanced with CCTV and auxiliary police.

The company hopes its other malls in Peninsular Malaysia can be as successful as Sunway Pyramid. These integrated malls include Sunway Carnival Mall, Sunway Giza, Sunway Putra Mall and Sunway Velocity Mall which was launched recently.

Chan said: “The other properties that we manage are non-themed contemporary malls. We are at a stage where we can scale our operations to enhance the mall's growth process.

“All our malls are mixed developments. For example, Sunway Velocity will have a hotel and medical components in addition to the mall, office tower, residential towers and shop-offices.”

Moving forward

Chan adds that most Sunway malls are also Transit Oriented Developments (TOD). All the malls except Sunway Carnival in mainland Penang are connected to rail systems via MRT, LRT and BRT lines.

“The daily passenger ridership is 900,000 which is a game-changer for Sunway Malls.

"Connectivity to public transportation is a plus because it brings greater footfall into our malls,” he said.

Sunway plans to put up a mall within its 1,800-acre Sunway Iskandar township that is double the size of the 800 acre Sunway City.

Such a massive township will allow Sunway to work its expertise at a much larger scale.

“We will roll out a revolutionary retail format for the first time dubbed the Sunway Big Box Village, whereby large retail spaces will be occupied by selected specialty retailers.

"Based on their pull factor, we expect larger crowds,” Chan concluded.