SNS News : 13 new Giant outlets within two months

13 new Giant outlets within two months
BY EDDIE CHUA

Datuk John Coyle.KUALA LUMPUR: GCH Retailer (M) Sdn Bhd will open 13 new Giant supermarkets and hypermarkets in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia in the next two months as part of its business expansion nationwide.

The operator of Giant supermarkets and hypermarkets had acquired five supermarkets, one superstore and two hypermarkets from three different operators in Kota Kinabalu. It also acquired a hypermarket in Sandakan recently. It will reopen the outlets as part of its chain next month, chief executive officer Datuk John Coyle said.

The unit of Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd will also open four new hypermarkets – one each in Malacca, Segamat and Kulai in Johor, and Sri Manjung in Lumut, Perak – before Christmas, he told StarBiz.

Coyle said the company picked Sabah for its business expansion as the state’s retail market had huge untapped potential.

“For a start, we will invest RM50mil to manage and operate the hypermarkets and supermarkets there,” he added.

Currently, Giant has two supermarkets in Kota Kinabalu – one in Wawasan and the other in Karamunsing.

Coyle said GCH also aimed to open six hypermarkets and supermarkets in Kuching, Sarawak, and six in the east coast states next year.

“We are looking to invest in east Malaysia and become a major player in the retail business as we are able to offer essential daily products at low prices, particularly for groceries.

“Our business operation is based on the low-cost model. Therefore, we can reduce the cost of our items and offer them to customers at below the recommended prices,” Coyle said.

He said whatever Giant saved would be rolled back to subsidise customer purchases at the company’s stores.

A Giant supermarket in Penang. GCH Retailer will open 13 more supermarkets and hypermarkets, including nine in east Malaysia.He said the offer items found in Giant stores were not of low quality.

“We have quality control over all our products. All items must meet our standard requirement, including Sirim approval for electrical products, before they are sold in our outlets.”
Coyle said Giant retail outlets carried between 5,000 and 10,000 low-priced items, depending on the size of the outlets, at any one time.

He said 20% of group revenue was from essential products and the remainder, non-essential items.

GCH operates 28 hypermarkets and superstores, 35 supermarkets, 200 Guardian outlets and 13 Cold Storage outlets nationwide.

News Source : The Star

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