Two Kuala Lumpur malls, collectively offering more than 2 million sqft (185,806 sqm) in net lettable area, will open in Cheras, Klang Valley, by the end of the year.
Moreover, the MyTown Shopping Centre (below picture) and Sunway Velocity Mall (above picture) will be just 800m away from each other.
Cheras already has the Aeon Maluri shopping centre and Cheras Leisure Mall, with The Tun Razak Exchange also on the horizon, reports The Star.
MyTown is being developed by Boustead Ikano while Sunway Velocity Mall is a Sunway Groupproperty. MyTown will be structurally linked to Ikea Cheras, the largest outlet mall in Malaysia.
With a population of 800,000 people, Cheras is an “ample market”, says Sunway Shopping Malls & Theme Parks CEO HC Chan.
“Fundamentally, the real issue is the absence of lifestyle and experiential malls in Cheras – Sunway Velocity Mall fills this void. I am looking from a quality rather than a quantity perspective… we are addressing this from multiple angles.”
Boustead Ikano GM Jo Hogsander agrees there is demand for more retail space, especially in Cheras. He says that when the MRT line opens it will ease traffic congestion and boost accessibility to the mall.
“Game changer”
Chan also sees the MRT as a “game changer”. “Two out of six MRT stations in Cheras will serve Sunway Velocity, which translates to a capacity of about 400,000 passengers a day.”
He says Sunway Velocity Mall would not only compete, but also complement the MyTown Shopping Centre.
“Competition is healthy, but in the longer term we will complement each other. Just look at the Bukit Bintang area and the number of malls there. It’s thriving because it gives consumers a choice.”
Despite the number of malls in the Klang Valley, Hogsander says they are still crowded, even on a weekday afternoon.
“I went to our competitors on a Thursday afternoon and couldn’t find a parking space. I then went to another competitor and had to do laps to find parking – and these are big shopping centres with more than 6000 parking bays.”
Sunway Velocity Mall and MyTown Shopping Centre will open on October 28 and November 15 respectively, 18 days apart. Both malls boast 6500 parking bays.
Sunway will have a NLA of 1 million sqft and accommodate 500 shops, while MyTown will have 460 stores on 1.1 million sqft of space.
Sunway Velocity Mall’s anchor tenants include Harvey Norman, Parkson, TGV Cinemas and Toys’R’Us, while MyTown has secured such brands as Golden Screen Cinema, Mango, Uniqlo and Village Grocer.
