Sunway Malls and Theme Parks chief executive officer HC Chan.
KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway Malls is forecasting a 6.5% growth in its sales performance for the first half of 2024 (1H24) year-on-year (y-o-y), buoyed by robust growth in the first quarter of this year.
The mall operator said better than expected performance from Sunway Carnival, resilient food and beverage (F&B) performance and double-digit growth in the jewellery, health and personal care sub-sectors were among the key drivers that shored up the mall’s overall sales performance.
Chief executive officer of Sunway Malls and Theme Parks, H C Chan, said the group’s strategy focusing on the northern region apart from its traditional stronghold of the central region was paying off.
He added that the expansion of Sunway Carnival in 2023 had paved the way for better contribution in terms of sales growth.
“Sunway Carnival topped the sales performance among Sunway malls during the last Raya festive period.
“We foresee even more upside with better yield from a refreshed tenant mix once the refurbishment of 500,000 sq ft of existing space is completed,” Chan said in a statement.
Additionally, Sunway Malls noted that its F&B performance also proved robust as indicators showed 6% growth.
The jewellery segment grew 14% y-o-y as strong demand for gold pushed sales up, while its health and personal care segment registered the highest growth year-to-date with 25% growth y-o-y.
For the longer term and broader outlook, Sunway Malls is expected to grow its portfolio of malls through both pipeline developments and acquisitions with 1.5 million sq ft net lettable area, respectively, following Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust
’s recent acquisition announcements.
“In the pipeline, Sunway is also building three malls – Sunway Square with a retail space of 300,000 sq ft in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur; Sunway Pier with a retail space of 350,000 sq ft in Port Klang; and Sunway Ipoh Mall with a retail space of one million sq ft in Sunway City Ipoh.
Including pipeline developments and acquired assets, Sunway Malls’ portfolio will grow from seven retail developments to 17. — Bernama
