Sunway Carnival Mall retail space to double, with 95% leased
PETALING JAYA: Sunway Malls yesterday unveiled key tenants that will take up new retail space in Sunway Carnival Mall, which is undergoing a RM500 million expansion.
It said the expansion will see the shopping complex in Seberang Perai, Penang, doubling its retail space to 1 million square feet from the current 500,000 square feet, with confirmed occupancy of 95% to date.
The mall’s expanded space is scheduled to open on April 1, 2022 and is expected to attain 100% occupancy by the second half of the year. Annual visitation is anticipated to reach 12 million after the completion of the expansion.
The additional retail space will enable Sunway Carnival Mall to introduce a list of first stores in mainland Penang and a number of large-format stores. These include a mix of international, regional and local retail brands such as Jaya Grocer, JD Sports, Bath & Body Works, Innisfree, Laneige, Victoria Secret and more. It will also see the largest GSC Cinemas in the northern region with 13 screens.
With double the space, the number of shops in Sunway Carnival Mall is set to increase by 60% from 220 to 350. Collectively, this exercise is expected to bring about economic and social multipliers with an additional 1,500 jobs.
Sunway Malls remains optimistic in the long-term potential of the Penang retail market.
Meanwhile, the mall opreator has reported positive recovery. As of November 2021, both traffic and sales have shown 80% and 90% normality respectively compared to the same pre-pandemic period of 2019. The mall group expects the number to sustain until the yearend festivities.
Sunway Malls is optimistic that its recovery can be sustained with full compliance of safety protocols on the national level. It expects attaining full pre-pandemic level performance in the near term.