Kedai Mesra to be incorporated in 200 Petronas stations nationwide

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is planning to expand its “Kedai Mesra” concept to 200 Petronas oil stations nationwide by end of next year.

Petronas Dagangan Berhad head of Business Retail Division Aadrin Azly said there are presently 12 such stores in Petronas oil stations in Malaysia.

“We will start this in East Malaysia in a very big way but in the end it is all about supply and demand as well, so if there is more demand, tell us that you want it and we will work hard to get it.

“We are planning to start around 10 stores both in Sabah and Sarawak at the end of this year and we will be looking at the feedback and see how the customers react to it, and hopefully they will love it,” he briefed reporters during a media tour by 25 reporters/ photographers from Sarawak, Sabah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang to Petronas Sri Hartamas Station in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday (Sept 30).

According to Aadrin, this is a new concept and ongoing process which will keep growing and growing.

“What makes this concept interesting is that we are customising it according to customers’ needs and making it “localised”. We have implemented the concept this year in what we call as the CX (Customer Experience) programme.

“Take for example, if we come to this store (Sri Hartamas), we have Nasi Lemak, but if in Johor Bharu we have Nasi Lauk and in Kelantan we have Nasi Dagang. We try to have more varieties of local food apart from selling the oil to increase our sales,” he added.

The selected stations will be renovated with a modern look and according to the needs of the local community.

Aadrin said the new concept will help to create more business opportunities for the local businesses and entrepreneurs and Petronas want the community to grow together with its business.

He added that since the “Kedai Mesra” concept was introduced in May, there was a noted increase in sales.

There are presently 81 Petronas oil stations in Sarawak including unbranded mini stations (UMS) and more than 1,000 stations throughout the country, with 30 per cent located in Sabah Sarawak and East Coast (Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu).