GM Klang Wholesale City moving into next phase
KLANG: The concept of wholesaling evolved naturally with the growth in trade and has always been an integral part in the flow of goods from producers to consumers. Despite the important roles wholesalers play, there are many who feel that the industry is moving into the sunset due to changing consumer landscape and the rise of e- commerce. However, Gamuda GM Klang Sdn Bhd’s managing director, Dato’ Lim Seng Kok thinks the otherwise and he believes that the value that wholesalers add to the supply chain in terms of cost savings, logistic efficiency, value and economic growth cannot be supplanted.
Citing the examples of developed nations such as the United States where the wholesale industry is 3 to 4 times that of the retail industry, and Japan where it is about 2 to 3 times.
The fact that the wholesale industry is still significant in countries higher along the development scale should give clue to the industry’s potential. Lim added that Dubai has also recently announced that it would be investing US$ 8.2 billion over the next decade to develop the world’s largest wholesale centre - the Dubai Wholesale City. It is clear that there are still huge potential and exciting prospects waiting to be untapped in the wholesale industry.
Speaking to the media, Lim said that the wholesale industry is listed as one of the twelve key economic growth contributors under the Economic Transformation Program ( ETP) and is a significant contributor to Malaysia’s GDP.
Despite the softening economy and challenges facing numerous industries in the country, Malaysia has managed to register robust private consumption and experienced growth for two consecutive quarters, increasing by 4.3 per cent in Q4 2015 to 5.3 per cent in Q1 2016. The sustained growth is a sign of consumer confidence returning and this confidence has benefited both the retail and wholesaling industries.
The group took over a 20storey shopping mall located in Kuala Lumpur Chow Kit District 2003 and transformed it into Malaysia’s first ‘ wholesale city’ GM Kuala Lumpur Wholesale City (formerly known as GM Plaza, Kuala Lumpur). While looking for an even bigger space for development, Lim came across a 14.5-acre parcel of land in Klang’s Bandar Botanic.
This piece of land is not only large enough to achieve the group’s grand vision, but is also located very near to Port Klang, one of the top 12 busiest ports in the world. And both Klang and Port Klang are well connected to other areas by extensive networks of roads. Motivated by this, Lim joined forces with Gamuda Land to jointly develop GM Klang Wholesale City, touted as the most comprehensive onestop wholesale city in Southeast Asia.
GM Klang Wholesale City officially opened its doors in 2009. The project is purpose- built for wholesale operation and comes complete with high volume loading dock, freight elevator, warehouse, courier services, currency exchange counter and ATM machines to nourish a healthy wholesale environment. Other standard features include the 24-hour security, close- circuit monitoring system, central airconditioning system, eateries, elevators and escalators.
The next important milestone for GM Klang Wholesale City will be the completion of the new 12storey Block B this year. Once it’s ready, the wholesale outlet capacity of GM Klang Wholesale City will be increased to 2,500. Block B will assume the role as the fashion hub by housing a wide selection of fashion products under one roof with the aim of becoming the best platform for wholesalers to reach out to their target customers.
Please surf www.gmklang.com for more details.