More Giant stores closing?

© Provided by The Edge Communications Sdn Mhd

KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Kong-based retailer Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (DFI) has neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of a list of 22 Giant and Cold Storage stores to be shut nationwide that went viral on social media.

DFI, operating the stores via GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, instead said it plans to continue investing in Malaysia for the long term.

A table — listing seven hypermarkets, five superstores and nine supermarkets under the Giant brand, and two premium supermarkets under the Cold Storage brand — with the remark “to be closed” went viral at the weekend, spooking the market as to how grave things are looking for GCH Retail’s employees as well as the outlook for the retail industry.

“As we had previously stated, we are reshaping and reorganising our business to better meet the needs of our customers in Malaysia and to remain competitive. The need to rebalance our offerings to keep pace with customers’ preferences is in line with what other retail businesses are doing in the region and will help us create more value for our customers and strengthen our food proposition going forward,” a GCH Retail spokesman told The Edge Financial Daily via email concerning the list.

“We are continuing to open, develop and invest in our stores in Malaysia. In fact, we are refreshing stores on a weekly basis, and in recent months we have launched 14 refreshed stores well-received by our customers,” the spokesman said.

A quick check with other retail players revealed they had believed the list was real, as rumours of GCH Retail closing some 19 outlets this year started to spread in April. Worse still, recent store closures by the operator, two of which appeared on the list — Giant Section 18, Shah Alam and Cold Storage Wangsa Walk — have further convinced the market that it is legitimate. A retailer had suggested that it was an old list that is currently circulating.