KUCHING: AEON CO (M) Bhd’s (AEON) first East Malaysian mall – AEON Kuching –is uniquely positioned in the local retail landscape as a family-friendly mall thatwill provide new shopping experiences to customers.

AEON Kuching is set for its grand opening this Friday (April 20) and the group is confident of the mall’s promising prospects as it holds the potential of gaining substantial market share through its unique one-stop shopping model and target of middle-income families, according to AEON managing director ShinobuWashizawa.

“While not be the largest locally,AEON Kuching will be a new model compared to other shopping malls.

“As a General Merchandise Store (GMS), it will offer newer and better assortments of retail goods such as daily commodity items, non-grocery products, food, health and beauty products, apparel and many more.

“We want our customers to come to our mall, enjoy our shopping, our food, our facilities and the convenience of purchasing everything they might need in one place.

“This is the concept of GMS and I believe it will be a unique and new shopping experience for Sarawakians,” he told the Borneo Post.

The time-saving amenity to fulfil all your shopping needs in one location is definitely AEON Kuching’s largest selling point but Washizawa guides the mall’s appeal does not stop there as italso has been designed to be a family-friendly destination.

Targeting middle-income families, AEON Kuching has been outfitted with an array of facilities catering to the requirements of families and their children.

From specially-designed children restrooms to family rooms and surau, the mall will not be just a shopping arcade but also a lifestyle destination.

And even if you have yet to start a family or your children have already left the nest, “Washizawa believes AEON’s extensive range of products at competitive prices will continue generating interest in the wider public.

“Our productranges are very extensive and include private Japanese brands new to the market. But most importantly, our products are all very price-competitive, especially our very own private brands like TOPVALU that has an SKU of over 1,600.

“Due to our high volume of trading, we are able to cut costs and provide our consumers with better bargains – something we like to bring to the people of Sarawak.”

Asked if AEON Kuching would offer the same product prices as seen in West Malaysia, Washizawa acknowledged the higher logistic costs are an issue butassured AEON would be actively working on providing local consumers with the same prices as in the peninsula.

However, one thing AEON Kuching will definitely share with its peninsular counterparts will be the perks, rebates, rewards and exclusive offers toAEON members in the State.

Local community impacts

Besides just providing Sarawakians with a new shopping experience, AEON Kuching is also expected to positively impact the local community through job creation and stimulation of the local economy.

According to AEON executive director Poh Ying Loo, the mall has retail space for over 135 tenants and has already attracted several foreign brands and businesses like Primavera and UN.LIMITED to venture into Kuching.

“We are just as excited as Sarawakians about opening our doors because we are eager to show what we have to offer the State. But beyond just adding to the retail landscape, we believe we are also benefitting the local community and economy at large.

“With space for over 135 tenants, we estimate AEON Kuching will help create over 1,200 new jobs locally, of which around 400 will be directly from AEON stores, businesses and management,” he said.

AEON Kuching is around 560,000 sqfeet in size with three levels of retail space and 1,800 carparks spread across five levels, and a basement.

The mall – AEON’s 27th mall in Malaysia – will be home to one level of AEON Supermarket, two levels of AEON Department store, a brand new AEON wellness store and a range of specialty stores like Ubiso, Kaison, SenQ, Popular, Supersave Elite and Daiso.

In addition, the mall will also boast an extensive range of lifestyle and entertainment facilities such as a cinema (MBO), Karaoke Lounge (K11), a gym (Level Up), a children’s playground (Mollyfantasy), an arcade (Palo), a food court (Food Avenue) and multiple F&B outlets.