Presence in the peninsula

Malaysia has five outlet malls currently. The first outlet mall in Malaysia was Oriental Village in Langkawi, which opened between 10 to 15 years ago. But perhaps built ahead of its time, it did not gain traction and eventually closed down. In 2011, Johor Premium Outlets (JPO), which is a joint venture effort between the Genting Group and Simon Property Group, was launched in Kulai, Johor. This marked a second entry of outlet mall in Malaysia and it look set for stay this time around. Following its success, four other outlet malls were launched between 2011 and 2016 namely Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA in Sepang, Freeport A’Famosa Outlet in Malacca, Genting Premium Outlet and Design Village in Penang. BizHive Weekly takes a snapshot of the five outlet malls currently -- all populated in Peninsula Malaysia: Genting Highlands Premium Outlets and Johor Premium Outlets Both Genting Highlands Premium Outlets and Johor Premium Outlets are owned by Genting Simon Sdn Bhd which is a 50:50 joint venture between Genting Plantations Bhd and Simon Property Group. The Genting Highlands outlet has gross built up area of 600,000 square feet with net lettable area of 275,000 square feet. It opened its doors to the public on June 15, 2017. With more than 150 designers and brand name stores offering savings of up to 70 per cent, Genting Highlands Premium Outlets is currently en - joying 99 per cent occupancy rate.

MIDF Research is positive on Genting Highlands Premium Outlets’ prospect after a visit to its parent company.

“We returned from the trip feeling positive on GHPO prospect as we gather that it has achieved 99 per cent occupancy rate. There is also a potential for expansion as GHPO still has 300,000 more square feet of land,” it said in an individual report.

Based on the good footfall and high occupancy rate, the research arm believed that GHPO may start Phase 2 expansion in either 2020 or 2021.

Meanwhile, Johor Premium Outlets has gross built up area of 379,511 square feet with Net Lettable Area (NLA) of 331,766 square feet. Phase 1 was officially opened on December 11, 2011. Following the success of Phase 1, JPO Phase 2 expansion was completed on 15November-2013. JPO has 130 designers and

brand name stores offering savings of up to 65 per cent.

On Genting Simon’s profit contribution to Genting Plantations, MIDF Research saw that in FY17, the former contributed profit before tax (PBT) of RM30.3 million, or 6.6 per cent of the latter’s (PBT).

The research arm pointed out that this is a significant improvement of 44 per cent year on year (y-o-y).

“Note that Genting Simon PBT includes the profit from both GHPO and Johor Premium Outlets.” Design Village Penang

Perhaps the only outlet mall with a link to Sarawak, Design Village Outlet Mall is located at Bandar Cassia, Penang which is a newly developed township in Batu Kawan.

It is owned by PE Land Sdn Bhd, which also owns and operates The Spring shopping mall in Kuching.

The mall is marketed by Savills Malaysia, fea-

tures a menagerie of fashion shops, including international and regional brands at discounts. Savills Malaysia is the leasing and retail development adviser for PE Land.

The outlet, located close to the landing point of the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, houses a diverse selection of brands, with 150 stores built on 400,000 sq ft within a tropical garden.

Design Village Penang is easily accessible via the Second Penang Bridge from Penang island. It is also near the Bandar Cassia exit off the North South Expressway. DVOM has net lettable area of 400,000 square feet set in set in a lush 24-acre tropical garden.

It begins operation on the November 23, 2016. Currently, it houses close to 150 stores of international and regional brands with occupancy rate of about 80 per cent. Freeport A’Famosa Outlet

Malacca has its very own Freeport A’Famosa Outlet located in Alog Gajah, featuring a lake with a fountain, carousel and a windmill which reflects Malacca’s Dutch heritage.

It is a joint venture between UK based outlet specialist, Freeport Retail Ltd and Langkah Realiti Sdn Bhd, the owner of the popular A’Famosa Resort in Malacca.

FAO has Gross Built Up area of 310,000 square feet which will be developed over three phases. The phase 1 which covers a gross built up area of 180,000 square feet and feature more than 80 retail units, 1,200 parking bays as well as an exhibition and event hall.

FAO was opened on 28th January 2016. Currently, it enjoys close to 100 per cent occupancy rate as it houses over 100 designers and brand name stores.

Currently, phase one, which was recently launched, carries brands that cover fashion, sports, beauty, optical, shoes, bags and luggage, children’s products, F&B and others. Phase two see an addition of more than 40 retail stores.

Although the “brand” originates from the US, Freeport is present in Europe and expanding into the Southeast Asian region. Mitsui Outlet Park

Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA is a factory outlet shopping mall located close to the two main airport hubs, KLIA and klia2. It offers a myriad of upper-middle to high-end off seasoned brands and products at attractive discounts and not forgetting a Japanese Specialty Store (Japan Avenue), introducing Japanese Art, Culture, Music and Culinary Delights.

Conceptualised by Japanese global architectural and design house Nonscale, Mitsui Outlet Park is developed based on the theme of Paradise Village featuring four distinctive concepts namely the Sunshine Square, Pier Walk, Tropical Plaza and Beach Walk, each representing the architectural design of each zone.

Mitsuit Outlet Park was one of the outlet stores available in Malaysia, with a potential of being the largest in Southeast Asia. The building is located near to KLIA terminal, with gross built up of 178,000 square feet.

At this juncture, its net lettable area is around 44,000 square feet and expected to grow once the third phase construction is completed. The entire project is owned by a joint venture partnership between Mitsui Fudosan and Malaysia Airports.

The JV formed is named MFMA Development Sdn Bhd, an entity that is responsible to construct the outlet store buildings and lease the spaces out to tenants. Note that MAHB owns 30 per cent stake in MFMA Development Sdn Bhd.

While the entire project is expected to complete by 2021, the early phases of the project are already in operation.

Notably, the premium outlet store was officially opened to public on 29th July 2015. As of this writing, there are approximately 130 stores opened with 97 per cent occupancy rate.

It is also the first commercial property investment in South East Asia for Mitsui Fudosan, Japan’s renowned and reputable real estate and retail property Developer.

Upon completion of Phase 3, Mitsui Outlet Park has the potential of being the largest factory outlet shopping mall in Southeast Asia.

The Mitsui Fudosan Group has a long history, with roots stretching back in Japan to the establishment of the Echigoya kimono store in 1673.