Saturday January 28, 2012

500 more Tukar shops

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is looking to modernise another 500 sundry shops under the Transformasi Untuk Kedai Runcit (Tukar) programme this year.

Domestic Trade, Consumer Affairs and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said they were confident of meeting the target, especially after their success in converting 519 shops last year.

He said the Tukar programme had been quite popular, with about 2,000 applications sent in from the time it was launched last year and he expected a similar response this time around.

Modern and convenient: Customers buying groceries at the Tukar shop in Bandar Bukit Puchong Friday.

He pointed out that the most significant aspect of the programme was how it helped small-time business owners changed the way they did things to cope with today's challenges.

“We can't guarantee that they will see an increase in revenue, although we have seen an average increase of between 30% and 40% among participants,” he said after the opening of a Tukar shop in Puchong yesterday.

Ismail noted that the Government's ultimate goal was to convert 5,000 sundry shops under the programme by 2020.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin opened a Tukar shop owned by single mother Jessica Wong.

Wong, who had been running her sundry shop for nearly a decade while raising a teenage daughter, was one of 101 participants taken under the wing of Tesco Stores (M) Sdn Bhd to learn how to run a modern store.

Since taking part in the programme in March last year, Wong has seen her revenue increase by 30% in the first three months, before it went up to 60% in the following months.

Tesco Stores chief executive officer Sung-hwan Do said they provided comprehensive training for the programme participants, from stock-keeping to efficient management practices.

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