Businesses rush to serve new tastes of Malaysia’s growing rich

KUALA LUMPUR: Businesses are rushing to cater to the wants and whims of the rich in Malaysia, as high-end living is where the money is.

Although the average Malaysian may be feeling the squeeze of stagnant salaries and rising living costs, the rich are spending to quench their thirst on what has come to be known as “experiential luxury”.

Experiential luxury is not about owning expensive stuff but more about the experience that objects and actions bring, and includes exclusive travel, spending on food and wine and going to posh gyms. Those who buy organic, imported produce and work out at cycle gyms, for example, are indulging in experiential luxury.

A report in The Straits Times (ST) said entrepreneurs were marketing adventure theme parks, indoor ski centres and trampoline parks to high-income families as educational, and even as money-saving lessons.

An indoor ski session with an instructor, for example, may cost RM159 per hour, but it means less time and money wasted learning on the slopes of Aspen, US.

With a high demand for experiential luxury from the top 20% of households with a monthly income of RM13,148 and above, businesses catering to the rich are thriving, according to the ST report.

For instance, Jaya Grocer, which opened its first store in 2011, now has 22 stores nationwide. It stocks premium-priced goods, mostly imported.

The ST reported, quoting the annual US Department of Agriculture report on food and beverage products, that imports from the US into Malaysia had increased by 71% in the last seven years, from US$5.465 billion in 2009 to US$9.346 billion last year.

The increase, according to the ST report, is largely due to the demand from, and growth of, upscale grocery stores.

Another indicator of this is the sale of luxury cars. BMW saw a 20% increase in sales from January to October this year compared with the same period last year.

In contrast, the ST report noted, sales of Perodua cars, targeted at lower-and middle-income groups, saw a stagnation in sales this year compared with 2016. Hypermarkets, which also cater to the bottom and middle-income groups, are struggling. Tesco Malaysia is downsizing floor space at six of its hypermarkets while Giant closed five supermarkets last month.

The ST report included interviews with a few of these rich Malaysians. Architect Vincent Seah, whose monthly expenses exceed RM10,000 – excluding loans – is taking spin classes at a premier gym where monthly membership fees are easily four times the RM150 charged at standard fitness centres.

He is quoted as saying: “Normal gyms are boring. Spinning combines cycling with music and you can see your own avatar as you ride.”

According to the 2017 Knight Frank Wealth Report, the number of Malaysians having a net worth of more than US$1 million nearly doubled between 2006 and 2016, to 43,000.

The ST report said they represent 0.13% of Malaysia’s population of 32 million. Half of these millionaires reside in Kuala Lumpur.

The ST quoted Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid, chief economist at consultants DM Analytics, as saying that Malaysians who earned roughly RM25,000 a month were in the country’s top 1% of wage earners. This roughly translates into 146,000 individuals. -FMT