Giant Tutup : Bukan Saja Isu EPF Rugi Sewa, Anak-Anak Kita Hilang Kerja Siapa Nak Ganti?

I have a suggestion at the very end. 

Its for the ooltra cabai (ha ha ha) and the Goat -  but it is still a suggestion. 

Do read on.

First here is the news from The Edge :

closure of Giant brings into question stores owned by EPF rented to Giant

GCH Retail which owns Giant already closed 8 stores in 2019 — 2 in Sept

At least 4 more — 2 in S'gor, 1 each in NS and Johor — to be shut soon

country’s largest supermarket/hypermarket operator by store count

GCH Retail also operates Cold Storage, Mercato, Jasons branded supermarkets

EPF owns “a dozen” buildings, shoplots, occupied by GCH Retail

representing about 10% Giant’s stores

industry talk is GCH Retail bring down number of stores to 60

2014 operated 147 stores; today  below 100

EPF would not reveal number of buildings tenanted to GCH Retail

EPF owned store is Giant Sect 18, Shah Alam

last day of business was June 27.

How did the EPF come to own these properties?

GCH Retail is unit of Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm  

acquired Giant from Teng family in 1999

GCH acquired properties through Hartanah Progresif
wholly-owned by Dairy Farm

Dec 2005, GCH divested all buildings it owned 

Hartanah Progresif sold to EPF for RM382m 

Hartanah Progresif renamed Kwasa Properties by EPF

then GCH entered long-term lease (10  - 15 years) for same properties

4 hypermarts, 4 supermarts, 42 shoplots, hostels, 3 pieces of vacant land

Kwasa Properties earnings from rental income

for FY2018 revenue RM58.092 million — unchanged from FY2017

net profit declined 2.78% to RM48.07m from RM49.45m in 2017 

FY2018, Kwasa Properties’ total liabilities RM589.37m

accumulated earnings RM32,174

apart from Shah Alam, other EPF-owned assets occupied by Giant are:

• Giant Plentong in Johor
• Giant TMC Bangsar 
• Giant Bandar Kinrara 
• Giant Kelana Jaya 

EPF's options

Giant Kelana Jaya lease up for renewal next year

possibility Giant will not renew lease

GCH said many stores closed after leases expired

EPF’s has three options — find new tenant, sell asset, redevelop site

(OSTB : Don't waste time. SELL.  EPF cannot find a new tenant easily - at good rentals and acceptable risk of payment. Forget about developing the site - the market is saturated and will remain so for a while. If you hold it, the EPF members (like me) will have to bear the lost opportunity costs. So please just sell it.)

In 2014, GCH operating 147 stores

today just below 100

4 outlets currently having clearance sale 

expected to cease operations :  Giant Muar, Giant Senawang, Cold Storage at 1 Utama, Giant Metro Kajang 

This would bring total closures for 2019 as tabulated by The Edge to 12.

My comments :  

First of all for those of you bodoh macam bontot lembu who will say that supermarkets are closing down because of "online shopping" etc please ask your wife when was the last time she bought 'ikan kembong' online?  

Or ask your wife no. 2 when was the last time she bought taugeh online?  

That's the end of that.  Here is a little bit of economics.  These supermarket closures are already having a serious impact on the economy.  Giant Supermarket has shut down 12 stores just in 2019.  The parent company GCH Retail has gone from 147 stores to just under 100 stores in just FIVE years. They have been closing about 10 stores a year since 2014. 

Folks, 

• if the Prime Minister's Office closes down, just a few donkeys will lose their jobs. No serious impact on the economy. Insya - Allah the economy might even improve.
  

• If the JAKIM shuts down, who knows - the banana trees may flourish throughout the country. 'Ai-ya-shaa- Allah.
  

But if a supermarket, a hotel, a factory or an oil palm estate closes down then it has serious repercussions in the economy.

Lets take this story above - GCH (the parent company of Giant) has been closing down so many Giant and other retail outlets.

The Edge says that this year alone TWELVE Giant outlets have closed.

1. Creates unemployment

Each Giant store will employ at least 200 staff.  The cashier counters alone may require about 20 people or more (per shift).  The majority of workers in Giant are Malays.  Where will they go now for work? Go to other supermarkets? They are also closing. Online shopping ?? 

So if 12 Giant Stores have closed in just 2019 that is easily about 3,000 people thrown out of work.

The parent company GCH has closed about 50 stores since 2014. That is about 8,000 people losing their jobs.  

But here is something more damaging. The entire supply chain will also suffer.

2.  Suppliers go out of business

Imagine each giant sells 200 chickens per day. That is 6000 per month or 72,000 chickens per year. 12 outlets adds up to 864,000 chickens a year. Plus Hari Raya and Chinese New Year sales etc lets round it up to ONE MILLION chickens sold every year.

So what is going to happen to those chicken farms that sold the ONE MILLION chickens to 12 Giant outlets? They will suffer too. They too will cut down on employees. 

What about the chicken feed manufacturers who supplied chicken feed to feed the ONE MILLION chickens. They will suffer poor business too. They will also cut down on employees.

What about transport operators, lorry drivers etc who delivered the chicken feed to the farms, delivered the chickens to the 12 Giant stores? They will suffer poor business too. How will they pay their monthly instalments to the banks?

The mechanics who service and repair those lorries and trucks will also suffer poor business. 

The whole country will suffer.

So tuan-tuan, between closing down 

1. the PM's Office
2. JAKIM and
3. Giant stores

which one does the most harm to you and your children's job prospects?

So sekarang dalam negara kita ada  seekor Indian Goat dan at least one ooltra cabai (ha ha ha).  So bagi kaum dunggu yang sokong haiwan-haiwan itu why not pi tanya dia orang macam mana nak selamatkan peluang pekerjaan anak-anak kita dan selamatkan ekonomi negara kita?

Isnt that a better suggestion? Yalah saya faham depa expert menabur fitnah dan menghasut benci membenci antara manusia, tetapi who knows - dalam janggut kambing itu atau dalam muka macam tau sar piah itu mungkin ada 'hidden talent' bagaimana untuk menyelamatkan peluang pekerjaan bagi anak-anak kita dan bagaimana cara nak selamatkan ekonomi negara ? 

You will never know. Pi lah tanya dia orang. Ok?

Kita hidup dalam real world atau alam yang nyata. 
Bukan alam khayalan, alam dongeng atau alam karut marut.

Be serious.
Jangan tunjuk perangai macam budak-budak.

Rudyard Kipling dulu merujuk orang Asia sebagai  'natures children'. Maksudnya sampai usia tua dan hampiri maut pun orang Asia masih budak-budak atau childish. 

Mudah teruja dengan perkara-perkara kecil yang tidak relevan atau tidak bermakna.
Mudah naik marah, mudah mengamuk, mudah terbawa-bawa emosi dsbnya.

Natures children - born to be forever childish. 
To get excited over little and useless things.
Maka paling mudah di control atau di manipulate oleh seekor kambing pun.

Kita perlu dewasa.   We have to grow up. 
Kita kena lebih matang.  We have to be mature.