KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): Sunway Malls & Theme Parks is doubling Sunway Carnival Mall’s retail space to one million square feet with a confirmed occupancy rate of 95% through its RM500 million expansion exercise.

Sunway Malls said its only mall in the northern region that is scheduled to open on April 1, 2022 is expected to reach 100% occupancy in the second half of 2022 (2H22). It is also anticipating 12 million annual visitors upon completion, said the group in a statement on Thursday (Dec 2). 

“The additional retail space will enable Sunway Carnival Mall to introduce a list of 1st stores in Penang mainland, 1st stores in 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 is set to increase by 60% from 220 shops to 350 shops. Collectively, this exercise is expected to bring about economic and social multipliers with an additional 1,500 new jobs created for the local community,” said the mall group operator. 

Though the expansion is still confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic, Sunway Malls remains optimistic about the long-term potential of the Penang retail market.

According to Sunway Carnival Mall general manager Chai Wen Yew, the ultimate objective of the mall is to serve the people in Penang and to cater to the demands of the growing community, especially in the mainland.

“Upon the opening of the expansion, our next focus will be the refurbishment of Sunway Carnival Mall phase 1,” he added.

Sunway Malls’ CEO HC Chan added: “Penang is a highly urbanized, affluent and discerning market. Given such strong fundamentals, we need to be well-prepared and well ready when normality returns. The seeding thought for Sunway Malls is to deliver a more comprehensive retail brand presence beyond Klang Valley into other key urbane markets. It is about growing, curating and completing the retail mix for the Penang market.” 

“We believe too that a long-term, progressive and visionary view that goes beyond the current crisis is needed. Hence, we remain confident and build for the future — first with Sunway eMall and now Sunway Carnival expansion. The long term outlook of the mall industry remains bright and robust,” Chan explained. 

Meanwhile, the mall group has also reported positive recovery with both traffic and sales having shown 80% and 90% normality respectively as of November 2021, compared to the same pre-pandemic period of 2019. The mall group expects the number to sustain till the year-end festivity.

Sunway Malls said it is optimistic that its recovery can be sustained and expects to attain full pre-pandemic level performance in the near term.