This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 20, 2020 - April 26, 2020

MALL operators believe it could take up to half a year for business to return to normal after the Movement Control Order is lifted and are preparing for it.

“There will be a critical period of restarting, rehabilitation and recovery of the business, especially [generating] cash flow to survive,” says Malaysia Shopping Mall Association (PPK) president Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok, adding that it will take at least six months for visitations and businesses to recover.

Therefore, says Teo — who is also director of Bandar Utama City Centre Sdn Bhd, which owns and manages 1 Utama Shopping Centre — all malls, including 1 Utama, will have to hold promotions and events to maintain the momentum of crowd control to ensure continued social distancing.

Pavilion REIT Management says that, post-MCO, its mall Pavilion Kuala Lumpur will focus on gaining consumer trust, with an emphasis on safety and hygiene practices in addition to building a stronger community bond and social values. “Embracing digitisation in marketing to promote the mall and its tenant mix will be key while collaborations with online payments, e-wallets and service providers will be crucial post-MCO,” the retail manager says.

Tourists made up 30% of Pavilion KL’s shopper demographics pre-MCO. Post-MCO, the mall expects a change in its consumer profile with an increase in the number of local shoppers.

At Mid Valley City, IGB REIT, which operates Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall, says, “We expect consumer sentiment to still be cautious post-MCO. However, we are undertaking initiatives to ensure that our customers’ safety remains our top priority when they visit our malls.”

In January, Mid Valley Megamall began to ramp up its safety and hygiene precautions, and engaged with its tenants and external providers/suppliers to enforce increased safety measures in both the public and back-of-house areas.

“As we are keeping all our malls partially open for essential services during the MCO period, we are continuing to enforce these safety measures. These are definitely challenging times for everyone, and our focus is on ensuring the safety of our staff and customers both during and post-MCO,” IGB REIT says.

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