Mydin gets the rap again, this time from BN

Eric See-To says the growth of mini market and premium grocery chains show the increasing wealth of the middle class.

PETALING JAYA: The owner of popular hypermarket chain Mydin has come under renewed attack from the ruling party, days after a minister criticised managing director Ameer Ali Mydin for saying that Malaysian consumers were now weaker in their spending power.

Barisan Nasional (BN) strategic communications deputy director Eric See-To said the issue was blown out of proportion, saying it was only hypermarkets which were losing business.

“As Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan has already said, there has been a shift with hypermarkets now comprising a smaller share of Malaysian consumers’ spending habit,” See-To said, referring to comments made by the minister in charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

See-To said smaller grocery stores were taking back their market share from hypermarkets.

“This observation is backed up by the explosive growth of smaller and more nimble competitors.”

He gave the example of 99Speedmart, a neighbourhood-based mini-market chain which has grown in the past eight years after a slow start in the previous decade.

The company now has some 1,000 stores nationwide, with about 100 launched within the last two years.

See-To said changes in consumer preference were not something unexpected, saying 99Speedmart is not the only example.

He said the growth of premium stores such as Jaya Grocer was proof of the increasing disposable income of the Malaysian middle class.

Jaya Grocer now has 22 outlets, with another five planned this year.

See-To said it was unfair to draw conclusions on the overall health of Malaysia’s economy based on the performance of just one side of the retail industry.

“This just goes to show that domestic demand and consumption continue to increase in Malaysia. On the flip side, it also reveals how the days of having large grocery stores and retail shops are over.” -FMT