HYPERMARKETS in Malaysia

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Hypermarket brands a hit with the thrifty

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians shopping at hypermarkets are turning to house brands to cut costs.

Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd marketing director Paul Morris said Tesco customers would have at least one house brand product among their purchases.

"We have seen the change in consumers' purchase from popular brands to house brand products since the price hikes," he said yesterday.

He said the hypermarket had spent a lot of time to develop its own brand of household products in the last 18 months.

They worked with suppliers, tested the products, audited their factories and went into consumers' kitchen where they blind-tested all products to ensure their house brands had the quality that customers demanded.

Morris said Tesco had some 2,200 house brand items that were 40 per cent cheaper than other brands.

"As a responsible social corporate body, we have put aside a substantial sum of money to ensure consumers get to buy products cheaper at our stores."

Morris said Tesco had also launched its "Fresh Market Price Pledge" to ensure fresh produce such as vegetables and fish were available at attractive prices.

Tesco's corporate and legal affairs director Azlam Shah Alias said their 21 hypermarkets had taken measures to control costs by reducing expenditure in certain areas, including marketing and advertising.

"We use energy saving bulbs and cover our refrigerators which has helped us to save 14 per cent of our energy cost."

In this week's seven-day fresh market promotions, consumers can enjoy discounted prices of food items which include large sea prawns at RM19.90 per kg compared to RM39.80 per kg previously; Beijing cabbage at RM1.85 per kg compared to RM2.59 previously and Cavendish banana at RM1.89 per kg compared to RM2.49.

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Giant, Citibank offer co-branded credit card


KUALA LUMPUR: Giant and Citibank have joined forces to offer consumers a co-branded credit card -- the Giant Citibank credit card -- in a move to help Malaysians get more out of their ringgit.

GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Tom Herriott said its Giant stores were serving over eight million Malaysians a month throughout the country.

“We expect many of them to sign up for this card, which makes it even cheaper to shop at Giant. We are targetting 50,000 cards for the first three months,” he said in a statement.

Herriott said Giant was continuously challenging itself to find new and innovative ways to offer consumers better deals.

“The Giant Citibank Credit Card is a result of this challenge. It demonstrates our commitment to deliver great value at the most cost efficient prices,” he added.

The key benefits of the card were a 2% rebate on all purchases made at Giant stores nationwide, and up to 1% rebate on all other everyday purchases outside Giant.

Further benefits include special member prices and discounts for cardholders. The rebates are over and above Giant’s already low everyday prices.

Other benefits of the Giant Citibank Credit Card include free annual fee for the first year, a 10% rebate for first spend, which was for applications made before July 15 and purchases made before Aug 31.

Thereafter, the cardholders would enjoy a 2% rebate on purchases in Giant, and up to 1% rebate on non-Giant purchases.

Citibank Bhd’s business director (cards and unsecured loans) Vipin Agrawal said with nearly 50% of its customers obtaining their groceries and essential items from supermarkets, the card offered real value and would benefit everyone.

For customers looking to get free groceries at Giant with everyday spend, this was an incentive for them to consolidate their spend into this new Giant Citibank Credit Card, he said.

“This will provide an avenue for a more efficient method of managing household expenses,” he added.

He also said the partnership was in line with Citibank's regional strategy of establishing and promoting co-branding partnerships with strong brands that have extensive customer following and market influence.

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CARREFOUR

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Giant and Citibank launch credit card


KUALA LUMPUR: Giant and Citibank have joined forces to offer consumers a co-brand credit card - the Giant Citibank credit card - in a move to help Malaysians get more out of their ringgit.

GCH Retail (M) Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Tom Herriott said its Giant stores were serving over eight million Malaysians a month throughout the country.

“We expect many of them to sign up for this card, which makes it even cheaper to shop at Giant. We are targeting 50,000 cards for the first three months,” he said in a statement.

Herriott said Giant was continuously challenging itself to find new and innovative ways to offer consumers better deals.

The key benefits of the card are a 2% rebate on all purchases made at Giant stores nationwide, up to 1% rebate on all other everyday purchases outside Giant, and special member prices and discounts for cardholders.

Other benefits of the card include free annual fee for the first year.

Citibank Bhd business director, cards and unsecured loans, Vipin Agrawal, said with nearly 50% of its customers obtaining their groceries and essential items from supermarkets, the card offered real value and would benefit everyone.

For customers looking to get free groceries at Giant with everyday spend, this was an incentive for them to consolidate their spend into this new card, he said.

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Tesco laksana insentif kitar semula beg plastik


TESCO Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd melancarkan program ‘Tesco Green Clubcard Points’ yang menawarkan mata ganjaran kepada pemegang kad kesetiaannya dalam usaha mempromosikan inisiatif beli-belah secara mesra alam.

Ketua Pegawai Operasinya, David Hobbs, berkata usaha terbaru syarikat itu dijangka mampu membantu meningkatkan keahlian program Clubcard kepada dua juta orang menjelang akhir tahun ini daripada 1.4 juta ketika ini.

Katanya, program pertama seumpamanya itu yang diperkenalkan di negara ini menawarkan ganjaran kepada pelanggan yang membawa dan menggunakan semula beg plastik Tesco.



Beliau berkata, pelanggan yang menggunakan semula beg plastik syarikat pesaingnya juga berpeluang mendapatkan satu mata ganjaran Tesco Green Clubcard.

“Penyata Green Clubcard Points akan dihantar pada setiap suku tahun kepada ahlinya bagi membolehkan pelanggan melihat sendiri prestasi mereka dalam penjagaan alam sekitar.

“Menerusi program ini, kami akan memberi ganjaran kepada pelanggan kerana menggunakan semula beg plastik beli-belah mereka termasuk daripada syarikat pesaing.

“Ia bukan saja memberi ganjaran kepada pelanggan setia kami tetapi membantu mereka untuk bersama-sama menjaga alam sekitar,” katanya pada sidang media selepas pelancaran program itu di Ampang, Selangor, semalam.

Pelancaran disempurnakan Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Datuk Suboh Mohamad Yassin. Hadir sama Timbalan Yang Dipertua dan Setiausaha Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya, Abd Hamid Hussain.

Hobbs menambah, penggunaan Green Clubcard Points menyerupai kaedah yang biasa digunakan menerusi pemberian mata ganjaran Clubcard sedia ada Tesco.

Katanya, pendekatan terbaru itu dijangka mampu mengurangkan jumlah penggunaan beg plastik (penghasilan beg plastik menggunakan minyak) dan penghantarannya ke tempat pembuangan sampah.

Bagi membantu mengatasi masalah pemuliharaan alam sekitar, beliau berkata, syarikat sudah melabur RM2.2 juta dengan pelbagai inisiatif yang diperkenalkan.

“Sepanjang tiga bulan lalu, kami berjaya mengurangkan penggunaan tenaga sebanyak 9.5 peratus dan 11.5 peratus penggunaan air berbanding tempoh sama tahun lalu,” katanya sambil menambah Tesco juga merancang memperkenalkan pusat kitar semula di cawangannya di seluruh negara.

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Dispute over hypermarket goes to action council
By LIM CHIA YING
chiaying@thestar.com.my


THE issue over the construction of a Carrefour hypermarket in Kota Damansara will be presented at the Selangor Economic Action Council (MTES) today before being tabled at the state exco meeting for endorsement.

The decision to present the merits and demerits of the case at MTES was made after nothing concrete came out of a recent meeting held between residents and the developer.

State Local Government Committee chairman Ronnie Liu had chaired the meeting at the state secretariat building in Shah Alam.

Besides residents and Carrefour’s representatives, also present were Kota Damansara assemblyman Dr Nasir Hashim, local government expert Derek Fernandez, and officers from the Petaling Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) urban planning and building departments.


All ears: Liu (right) listening to residents' grouses as they pointed out their concerns about traffic and noise.

“Carrefour had come up with an amended, new proposal for its construction,” said Liu .

“I ask for residents to study the proposal for a common point and consensus. Also, I hope to have the cooperation of everyone to give their views in a professional manner.”

Dr Nasir, reading from the last meeting’s minutes, told the audience that residents wanted Carrefour to relocate from its current site, as they are concerned over density, traffic, and safety once the building is up.

“If you come to our area, you will understand what we mean by observing the number of cars plying our road at the moment and the extra cars that will come in,” the residents told Liu.

They also cited fear of social problems, lamenting that pupils of SK Section 11 may be attracted to hang out at the hypermarket.

“We just want it to be relocated elsewhere, that’s all,” they said.

Carrefour Malaysia expansion and property director Sin Tiew Cheo said under the amended proposal, it was willing to reduce building size to reduce density, put up sound barriers and hoarding to reduce noise, and boost security at all its entrances.

“The minimum height of the barrier will be between 2.5m and 3m from the original ground level.

“We are also committed to increasing landscaping and a green-belt like boundary,” said Sin.

“We are also prepared to construct a pedestrian bridge and no cybercafes will be allowed inside our building,” he added.

Residents however pointed out that as sound travel upwards and the school sits on higher ground, even putting hoarding would not make a difference.

Meanwhile, the MBPJ had issued a stop-work order to the building’s construction and its progress status at the time was 15%.

The MBPJ confirmed that the developer had submitted a traffic impact study although residents claimed they were not consulted on it.

Liu said he had noted feedback and views from both parties and will first present the case to the MTES today.

“We need something more concrete before going up to the state exco meeting. However, rest assured all parties involved - residents representatives, developer, MBPJ, contractor, and landowner - will be called to attend the MTES meeting to be chaired by Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

“All facts and arguments will be decided in the exco meeting later,” concluded Liu.

[TWK90]

http://www.giant.com.my/new_mall.html

Interesting, the new Giant website, there's a list of new Giants or extension....

- Kota Damansara
- Tawau
- Tampoi (new wing)
- Putra Heights

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Hypermart does its bit for the environs
By FAZLEENA AZIZ


IN AN effort to help the environment, Tesco Stores (M) Sdn Bhd launched the Tesco Green Clubcard Points, in which customers are rewarded with points for every carrier bag that they reuse while shopping.

For every bag reused at the hypermarket, customers will earn one point, which will be highlighted on the quarterly Clubcard statements.

Tesco Malaysia chief operating officer David Hobbs said their customers would be the first in the country to be financially rewarded for reusing bags.


All smiles: Suboh (centre) holding the Tesco Green Bags after launching the Tesco Green Clubcard Points at Tesco Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Looking on (from left) are Abdul Hamid and Hobbs.

“This move will mean Clubcard members will collect additional 'green' points on their purchases.

“We will not restrict the scheme to only our carrier bags but even our competitors'.

“We give out a staggering 177 million bags a year and we hope to reduce that number as well as cut down the amount going into the landfill waste sites.

“One of our goals in our community plan this year is to lead in tackling climate change.

“We have committed to reducing our carbon footprint intensity by 50% by 2020.


Saying it in style: Dancers promoting the Tesco Green Clubcard Points.

“We have also started simple initiatives like installing new energy saving lights at all of our new stores, putting covers on our freezers that reduce energy, installing motion sensor lights, making refrigerators energy efficient and introducing the reusable 'Bag for Life'.

“Some RM2.2mil have been invested and I am delighted our efforts have had an impact.

“In the last three months, we have managed to reduce our energy consumption by 9.5% compared with last year and our water consumption by 11.5%,” said Hobbs.

He also said there were 1.4 million Clubcard customers and the number was expected to increase up to two million by the end of the year.

This month, Tesco will follow up with an introduction of more environmentally-friendly degradable bags.

The plastic bags will start to deteriorate in 60 days and leave no harmful residues.

The Green Clubcard Points was launched by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry secretary-general Datuk Suboh Mohamad Yassin at Tesco Ampang.

Suboh said the effort taken by Tesco should be emulated by other organisations.

“This is an exemplary corporate social responsibility undertaken to tackle the problem of climate change and global warming.

“As one of the problems with waste is plastic, this will help people to be more responsible,” he said.

Suboh said it was up to everyone to do their bit to mitigate the present environmental situation.

Also present at the launch was Ampang Jaya Muncipal Council deputy president Abdul Hamid Hussain and Asst Supt Paul Henry from the Ampang Jaya district police station.

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The Biggest Tesco In malaysia Opened in Plentong, JB

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Tesco: Shopping habits changing
By ZAZALI MUSA


JOHOR BARU: Tesco Stores (M) Sdn Bhd says the surge in the prices of fuel and goods has changed the shopping habits of Malaysian consumers.

Chief executive officer Chris Bush said most consumers now preferred to shop at outlets closest to their homes or offices to save on fuel.

He said consumers also preferred to shop where they could get almost everything under one roof, whether products or services, instead of going from one place to another like before.

“Consumers are becoming more price-sensitive and only go for goods that give them value for their money,” Bush said at the opening of the seventh Tesco Extra store in Plentong yesterday.

The store is one of eight former Makro Cash & Carry stores that Tesco took over last year.

Bush said the previous Makro Plentong store was demolished and Tesco spent RM80mil on the new outlet while six other Tesco Extra stores were refurbished from existing Makro stores.

He said the 25,000 sq ft Tesco Extra Plentong – comprising 10,000 sq ft hypermarket and 15,000 sq ft mall – was the biggest Tesco store in the country.

Bush said the company was currently building six Tesco hypermarkets – in Bukit Indah and Desa Tebrau in Johor, Klang and Semenyih in Selangor, Ipoh and Kampar in Perak – and one Tesco Extra in Prai, Penang.

Marketing director Paul Morris said 25% of the products in Tesco Extra were for small businesses and the balance for regular customers.

He said the hike in prices of goods had also resulted in higher demand for fresh products such as vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood as many people now cooked at home.

“Customer feedback shows they are spending more on fresh products and cutting down on non-food items,” said Morris.

He said Tesco's in-house brand was becoming more popular with shoppers as the products were as good as other leading brands.

Morris said brand loyalty was no longer an issue, except for cosmetics and skincare products, as more consumers were going for generic brand goods that were equally good in terms of quality but low in pricing.

[TWK90]

I am confused, 25000 sq ft or sq m? This is because realistically, the count in sq ft makes it look small...

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Tesco comes to Plentong
THE new Tesco Extra store in Plentong opened its doors last week at the site of a former hypermarket that was a major industry player in the 1990s.


BIG HIT: The new Tesco Plentong was crowded when it first opened its doors last week.
The old building was demolished to make way for the new entity.

With over 15,000 square metres of space and 1,700 products, it is the largest Tesco store in the country.

Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Chris Bush said they decided to adopt the "demolish and rebuild" approach to give the best to their customers.


"As the old building did not match our requirements, we decided to demolish it, and we will use the same approach for our next store in Seberang Prai, Penang."

Bush said both the family and small business needs would be catered to by having bigger product packs, special trolleys and checkout counters, loading services and a dedicated business development team to support business owners.

Small-and-medium industries (SMEs) are also given room to flourish, as the new Plentong outlet has 125 kiosks, a food court and bazaar lots for rental.

"We have a dedicated aisle for all the local food produced by the SMEs, and we have quite a number from Johor itself."

Bush said they are excited about the opening because now, Tesco has the chance to serve the community by providing quality service.

Tesco will open another store in Bukit Indah within a year, as part of its business expansion plan.

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Giant Kota Damansara is designed with an array of customer friendly features to enhance the entire shopping experience redefining today’s modern retail.

The area has 350,000 populations in 70,000 households. It is only 8 minutes drive Jalan Duta and 20 minutes to Kuala Lumpur.

The building reflects new look of Giant Mall and has a Gross built-up area of 338,000 sq ft over 3 levels with a net lettable complex area of 88,000 sq ft with space location ideal for 100 retailers. Target opening date is last quarter of 2008.




Giant Tawau is located along Jalan Datuk Chong Thien Vun, the main access road to residential areas in Tawau. This latest outlet will be only 2.5km from Tawau busy town center.

This building comes with a total of gross lettable area of 133,000 sq ft to sustain the demands of 300,000 populations in 60,000 households. The net lettable area for complex is 14,000 sq ft. and target to open by last quarter of 2008.




Giant Tampoi New Wing is an extension of existing Giant Tampoi Mall with an additional net lettable area of 60,000 sq ft to cater current high market demand and it will definitely attract more customers and directly increase the sales and profit for your stores. We will have 70 new tenants.

No hassle on Advertising & Promotion as Tampoi Mall has been established many years. Easy accessibility is one of the main attractions to the Giant Tampoi, as it connects to Jalan Perling, Jalan Tampoi, North-South Highway and Pasir Gudang Highway. Target opening date is last quarter of 2008.




Giant Putra Heights is scheduled to open early year 2009. This will be a new mall in a township that developed few years back.

The site is approximately 10 minutes and 8 minutes driving distance from Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya respectively.

This is a two storey building consists 38,000 sq ft Net Lettable Area and approximately 72 lots for tenants. A population of 198,000 from 48,000 households will be a strong support for any tenants to enter Giant Putra Heights. And easy access from Elite Highway boosts up the sales for all.

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Seafood chain to cast net in Saudi Arabia


REVENUE Valley Sdn Bhd plans to open 21 London Fish Tales fast food outlets soon in Saudi Arabia.

Its managing director George Ang said seafood was fast getting popular among the Arab community.

London Fish Tales, which serves fish and chips and other fish-based dishes, is Revenue Valley’s first foray into the fast food business after its successful Manhattan Fish Market chain.

There are now some 30 Manhattan Fish Market outlets in Malaysia besides one each in Thailand, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and two in Singapore.


Staff at London Fish Tales showing the dishes available at the joint.

Ang said the company decided to tap the younger market with the London Fish Tales outlets which offered affordable dishes as there was no service charge.

Ang was at the soft launch of the London Fish Tales outlet at the Tesco hypermarket in Kota Baru recently.

It is the first London Fish Tales outlet in Malaysia.

The outlet has 18 workers who were trained by eight trainers brought in from Kuala Lumpur, Ang said.

“Most of the raw food such the pollock, pacific dory and butter cod are imported,” he said.

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Foreign hypermarts may get to open smaller stores


PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia may allow foreign hypermarkets to open smaller outlets through a franchise system, seeking to encourage more investment from the likes of Carrefour CA without hurting local retailers.

“The stores will still be owned by Malaysians,” Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said in an interview Tuesday.

Foreign retailers would be allowed to open outlets slightly larger than convenience stores across Malaysia without being subjected to rules that govern hypermarkets.

Malaysia has eased restrictions on foreign retailers since a 2002 ban on superstores aimed at protecting local traders.

Companies including Carrefour, Tesco Plc, and Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd, which operates Guardian pharmacies, Giant hypermarkets and Cold Storage supermarkets, invested more than RM1.6bil in the country in 2006.

The franchise proposal would be submitted to Cabinet for consideration next month, Shahrir said.

That may help appease local business groups who have objected to the expansion of foreign hypermarkets.

The Government won’t stop new foreign hypermarket operators from setting up outlets in Malaysia because they provided choices for consumers, Shahrir said.

“There must be a balance between consumer interests and the trading sector’s,” Shahrir said. Still, “we’ll be more selective.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world’s biggest retailer, and Germany’s Metro AG have applied to open stores in Malaysia, Shafie Apdal, the Minister’s predecessor, said in October. Shahrir said he wasn't aware of the applications. – Bloomberg

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3,000 sertai Tesco 'Walk for Live'
Oleh: Siti Shahila Ahmad
bhnews@bharian.com.my


DAPAT SAMBUTAN: Tesco 'Walk For Life' di Tasik Titiwangsa, Kuala lumpur, baru-baru ini.











KUALA LUMPUR: Lebih 3,000 peserta menyertai Tesco ‘Walk for Live’ di Taman Tasik Titiwangsa bagi mengumpul dana untuk disumbangkan dalam usaha penyelidikan kanser oleh Majlis Kanser Nasional (Makna).

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Tesco Malaysia, Chris Bush berkata, acara yang berlangsung pada Ahad lepas telah berjaya mencapai sasaran dari segi penyertaan dan kutipan wang.

“Lebih dari RM100,000 berjaya dikumpul hasil daripada derma peserta yang hadir pada hari terbabit dan ini membuktikan orang ramai memberi sokongan padu dalam melawan penyakit ini’ katanya dalam kenyataan media di sini, semalam.

Katanya, selain orang awam, beberapa selebriti sukan juga turut hadir ke acara itu bagi memberi sokongan antaranya, Shalin Zulkifli, Siti Sufiyah, Akmal Rizal dan Azlan Johar.

“Saya amat bangga dengan kejayaan kami pada hari ini kerana ia telah memberi peluang kepada orang ramai untuk beriadah sambil memberi sumbangan kepada Makna” katanya.

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Customers opting for clean and multi-choice hypermarts
By CHRISTINA LOW


WET market traders are increasingly being squeezed out of business by the huge hypermarkets which are opening their fresh products sections earlier.

Many young housewives are opting to shop for their fresh products in the comfort of air-conditioned super stores, instead of getting their feet dirty on the wet and usually unkempt stinking walkways of wet markets.

Many hypermarkets in the Klang Valley are opening as early as 8am. The products they offer are usually fresh and clean. The shopping environment is pleasant and the choices of products are plentiful, ranging from local fresh vegetables, fish and meat to imported frozen food stuff.

According to traders at wet markets in Pudu and Kepong in Kuala Lumpur and SS2 in Petaling Jaya, they are being hard hit by this new scenario, resulting in declining sales and less earnings.

Some have reduced their stock of vegetables, fish and other perishables fearing difficulty in selling them.


Easy option: At hyper marts, the prices are clearly displayed on boards above the foodstuffs.

With the high cost of transportation and other things due to the fuel price increase, the situation looks bad for the petty traders.

According to fishmonger Kelvin Khor, sales have definitely reduced since the fuel price increase.

“Nowadays, many customers will check the price and then do some calculations before buying anything.

“Some are also buying less of the more expensive products,” Khor said.

He added that his business had dropped nearly 30% since the petrol price hike was enforced.

Fruit seller Wong said on weekdays, sales could be very slow and quiet.

“Although our business hours have not changed, the number of customers has reduced during the weekdays.

“We look forward to the weekends nowadays as more people come shopping then,” she said.

A trader, who wished to be identified as Khoo, said it was obvious that they were in no position to compete with the big league hypermarts which could offer fresh products cheaper.

Khoo, 23, who operates a family business with his father, has been trading at the wet market for the past three years.

“We do not order as much fish as the hypermarts do and we also have to collect and transport our products daily by ourselves.

“Hence, it can be costly compared with the hypermarts which have suppliers sending it to them,” he said.

According to vegetable seller Liew Kwan Fong and a woman fishmonger who wanted to be known only as Lim, it takes a longer time now to sell off the day’s produce.

Lim, 60, said usually she still had quite a sizable stock left at her stall at the end of her trading day at 3pm.

She hopes the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will look into possibly extending their operating hours.

“It is difficult to make a living especially when everything is so expensive and people are buying things more carefully,” Lim said.

Liew said he often had baskets of vegetables left at the end of the trading day at 3pm and he had no choice but to stay on for an hour or more to sell off the vegetables.

While the wet market traders are facing a hard time now, what about the customers and consumers?

Homemaker Irene Ooi, 56, said she opted to shop at the hypermarts because some products like onions, garlic and ginger were sold at prices much lower than at the wet market.

Ooi shops at the Giant hypermarket at Bandar Kinrara 5 every weekend.

“I live near the store. Its prices for such products are cheap and I do not need to buy a lot as their prices remain low at most times,” she said.

Ooi said she also visited wet markets just to compare prices.

According to university students Sharon Lam and her housemate Michelle Loo, buying fresh produce at the hypermarkets was the most convenient way after a movie with friends.

“We would normally stop by to buy vegetables after meeting friends. It is also much cleaner at the hypermart and we are not worried about being cheated or short-changed too,” Loo said.

The 19-year-old said prices at the wet market were not constant and consistent and they were not sure whether a given price was reasonable or not.

A quick trip to a wet market would turn any child off with the strong stench, especially from the poultry and fish sections, coupled with puddles of water and bits of vegetables strewn all over the walkway.

“It is difficult to educate the market traders but they must learn to keep the area clean at all times.

“If they do not continue cleaning, I am sure more and more people would rather pay a little more at supermarkets and hypermarkets where the same service and products are available,” Kepong Community Centre chairman Yee Poh Ping said during a recent gotong-royong at the market site.

Besides the prices, cleanliness and free parking, hypermarkets also have creative ways of attracting customers.

For example, Giant has collaborated with Citibank to give card members who shop at its stores a 2% rebate on purchases.

Tesco has its Tesco Clubcard which allows customers collect points on their daily purchases for vouchers in return.

Jusco has its JCard which offers discounts to card members on certain products weekly.

Trying to sell off perishable items within a certain time is not easy, hence stores like Giant and Jusco would mark down prices for such products at least two hours before the store closes for the day.

“We would mark down bakery items, fish and vegetables at about 8pm or 9pm on days when the store closes at 10pm as these fresh items cannot be kept for the next day,” Giant marketing director Ho Mun Hao said.

According to Ho, stocks are brought daily at 6am to the stores where it is transported straight to the cold room to preserve its freshness.

“We are different from wet markets as we do not break the cold chain, all the fresh produce are always placed at the right temperature.

“If a customer thinks our fresh produce are not up to standards, they can always return them to us,” Ho said.

He added that hypermarkets like Giant conducted checks on prices weekly to ensure that customers get only the best price at all times.

“We order in bulk, which is why we are able to give customers such low prices with frequent checks by our fresh market department representatives monitoring prices at other stores, too,” Ho said.

According to Jusco deputy store manager Salmah Halim, many customers looked for bargain products which had markdown prices.

“These are products which have a short shelf life left but still could be consumed before their expiry dates.

“Many come to our store an hour or so before closing time as the bakery would offer discounts up to 50% for pastries produced the same day.

“We also have a special markdown area for the meat and fruits section,” Salmah said.

For wet market traders times are surely hard, as, at the end of the day, the customers are the winners with the competitive prices offered by the hypermarkets.

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Tesco kumpul RM100,000 untuk Makna

KUALA LUMPUR Program Walk For Life anjuran Tesco Malaysia di Taman Tasik Titiwangsa di sini pada Ahad lepas berjaya mengumpul dana lebih RM100,000 untuk disumbangkan kepada Majlis Kanser Nasional (Makna).Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Tesco, Chris Bush berkata, selain jumlah kutipan itu, penyertaan lebih 3,000 peserta turut membanggakan pihaknya selaku penganjur.

"Pada pagi Ahad itu sahaja, kita telah berjaya mengumpulkan lebih RM11,000 hasil sumbangan para peserta," katanya.

Selain berjalan, program tersebut turut dipenuhi dengan pelbagai acara menarik yang lain seperti mengecat muka, pelampung istana Merlin dan mesin dunking.

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Decision on hypermart this week
By SALINA KHALID


THE decision on the controversial hypermarket project in Kota Damansara is expected to be made during this week’s meeting of the Selangor state executive council.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Abdul Khalid had said last Friday that he would need a week to make a thorough study on the matter before making a decision.

Khalid chaired a closed-door meeting between the Selangor executive council action committee and the parties concerned at the Selangor State secretariat complex in Shah Alam last Friday.


R. Sivarasa Those present were representatives of the Kota Damansara residents, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) officials, Carrefour company representatives, Subang MP R. Sivarasa and Kota Damansara state assemblyman Dr Nasir Hashim.

According to Sivarasa, Khalid had said he needed a week to discuss the matter further before making the decision.

“We feel that we should be able to resolve the issue and it is possible not to have the hypermarket there as long as the state government can find an alternative site for it.

“I am sure it can be done,” Sivarasa said.

The residents of Section 11 in Kota Damansara and the surrounding area are opposed to the construction of the hypermarket in their neighbourhood.

Several meetings had been held between the parties involved but no concrete agreement has been reached.

The parties then decided to take the case to the state exco action committee.

The residents want the project to be relocated elsewhere as they are concerned over density, traffic and safety of the people once the building is completed.

“The area is zoned for commercial use to cater for the local residents.

“It is designed for those two-storey shophouses but then suddenly a hypermarket is going to be built there. We felt violated,” Kota Damansara resident Vincent Chee said.

“A new hypermarket is not needed in the area as we already have several hypermarkets (Giant and Tesco) nearby,” he said.

[rizalhakim]

Konsep baru
Oleh Rosdalilah Zahari
bisnes@hmetro.com.my

RANGKAIAN pasar raya besar Tesco kini melebarkan sayapnya dengan pembukaan satu lagi cawangan baru di Kampar, Perak, kelmarin, yang turut dilengkapi pusat komuniti pertama seumpamanya di negara ini.

Ketua Pegawai Operasi Tesco Malaysia, David Hobbs, berkata pembukaan Tesco terbaru itu adalah cawangan ke-23 di negara ini serta ketiga di Perak selepas Tesco Ipoh dan Tesco Extra, Ipoh.

Beliau berkata, keluasan Tesco cawangan Kampar tampak lebih kecil daripada biasa kerana pembinaannya mengikut skala penduduk setempat di kawasan terbabit.

“Kami teruja dengan pembukaan Tesco Kampar ini kerana penduduk dapat menikmati barangan segar dan bermutu tinggi pada harga terendah istimewa untuk kemudahan pelanggan.

“Tesco Kampar berkeluasan 9,000 meter persegi mempunyai 54 gerai terdiri daripada peniaga kereta tolak dan pusat makanan.

“Selain itu, ia menyediakan 548 petak tempat letak kereta pelanggan dilengkapi empat petak khas orang kurang upaya (OKU) dan 18 petak keluarga mempunyai bayi,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang media selepas perasmian Tesco Kampar oleh Timbalan Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Noriah Kasnon, kelmarin.

Hadir sama, Pengarah Hal Ehwal Korporat dan Perundangan Tesco Malaysia, Azlam Shah Alias; Pengarah Kawasan Tesco Malaysia, Bakri Md Deris dan Pengurus Besar Tesco Kampar, Amir Murad.

Hobbs berkata, pihak Tesco sedang menjalankan promosi sempena musim perayaan Aidilfitri yang bakal menjelang pada bulan depan dengan pelbagai pilihan barangan pada harga rendah.

“Kami begitu menggalakkan pelanggan setia menggunakan Tesco Clubcard supaya mata ganjaran yang diperolehi dapat ditukarkan kepada baucar.

“Selain itu, pelanggan boleh menikmati diskaun serta mampu berjimat ketika berbelanja sempena musim perayaan ini dengan menggunakan baucar itu,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, Tesco Kampar mengambil pekerja dari kalangan OKU dan masyarakat Orang Asli.