KUALA LUMPUR: Aeon Co (M) Bhd, operator of Jusco stores in Malaysia, has set aside RM15 million over the next two years as it undertakes a nationwide rebranding that will see its Jusco stores renamed Aeon.

“It is the perfect opportunity to strengthen our positioning in the market and establish a clear brand identity,” managing director Nur Qamarina Chew said at a media luncheon yesterday.

Besides giving its stores a facelift with the new corporate identity, its customer loyalty programme, the J Card, will be renamed Aeon Member Card, retaining the same benefits.

In 1984, the government invited the group, a subsidiary of Aeon Japan Ltd, to modernise the local retail industry. Since then, it has been operating under the Jusco name.

In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Aeon said it is organising a press launch, a series of posters, TV commercials, a radio contest, customer engagement activities and special merchandise. At the same time, it will introduce a new tagline, “Aeon enriching your lifestyle”.

At the luncheon, the group said it will launch two new shopping centres, with Aeon as the anchor tenant, in Ipoh and Sri Manjung, Perak, this year.

The group has 24 stores, 19 shopping centres and four supermarkets under the MaxValue name nationwide.

“We are exploring the potential in Sabah and Sarawak as I believe Aeon can help contribute to the modernisation of  the shopping convenience in the region ... we also have expansion plans for our supermarket business,” Chew said.

Aeon is ranked third in the retail market with a turnover of RM2.9 billion. The entire market had a turnover of RM80 billion last year.

According to the Retail Association of Malaysia, the retail market is expected to experience 6% growth this year. Chew said Aeon is expected to at least match or exceed industry growth.

Poh Ying Loo, executive director of corporate finance, said the group plans

to spend an estimated RM350 million on capital expenditure this year, slightly less than the RM400 million it spent last year, mainly on its shopping mall and retail business.

Chew added that the group is exploring its options in the Asean region as well, in countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. However, this would depend on the decision by its parent, Aeon Japan Ltd.

The group is not looking to acquire any other retailers at the moment and believes its growth will be sustained as its shopping centres are not in major city centres but in key growth areas across the country.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 9, 2012.