KR1M 2.0 expected to be rebranded, again

> It’ll continue after a revamp, according to a source; deputy minister says decision made but declines to elaborate

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) programme, which was suspended last year and relaunched in February this year, is expected to undergo yet another rebranding exercise, this time under the Pakatan Harapan government.

The programme, now known as KR1M 2.0, will continue after some restructuring, according to a source.

Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Chong Chieng Jen said yesterday the ministry has made a decision on the programme but declined to comment further.

“We have made a decision after reviewing it … the minister will make an announcement soon, whether it will continue or not. We will have a press conference on that,” he told reporters after launching the partnership between KK Super Mart and Touch ‘n Go eWallet.

Last month, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said his ministry is reviewing KR1M 2.0 and would determine whether the project should be continued.

At that time, the minister said there were 52 shops operating under KR1M 2.0 but most of the operators had taken down the KR1M signboards.

The KR1M programme was initiated by the previous government in 2011 to alleviate the rising cost of living by offering products at lower prices. It was envisioned that the stores would sell daily necessities at 30-50% lower than market price.

However, the programme was suspended and KR1M stores were closed temporarily in September last year while Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd’s contract as the main operator was terminated. There were 185 KR1M stores nationwide as at September last year.

In February, the programme was relaunched as KR1M 2.0. Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (PNS) was appointed to spearhead the programme by collaborating with strategic partners, with a target of 3,000 outlets nationwide in three years.

Tunas Manja Group and KK Super Mart are the first two retailers that PNS started working with for KR1M 2.0. To date, KK Super Mart has converted 16 of its outlets into KR1M 2.0 stores.

Meanwhile, KK Super Mart is on track to achieve its sales growth target of 15-20% this year, having enjoyed up to 15% sales increment since the zero rating of the goods and services tax (GST).

“This month, sales will increase over the next two weeks. Once SST (sales and services tax) comes in, market sentiment is expected to slow down a bit; that would be the immediate reaction,” said KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd founder and executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr K.K. Chai.

However, he said there will not be much impact from SST as it is a single tax system, compared with the GST.

On the partnership with Touch ‘n Go eWallet, Chai said its customers can now use the cashless system at all its 330 outlets nationwide while KK Super Mart will be able to tap into Touch ‘n Go’s 24 million card holders.

Touch ‘n Go is the third eWallet system to join KK Super Mart, in addition to MCash and Boost. KK Super Mart is expected to rope in WeChat Pay soon.

Chai said the cashless system will reduce the occurrence of robberies at its outlets while reducing transport, management and business costs.

“It will reduce processing time for the cashier and reduce the cost of handling cash. For customers, it is also safer as they would not have to carry so much cash. Over time, it would also reduce labour cost by 5-10%,” he added.