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Sunway Carnival Mall doubles retail space

Opened in June 2007 in Penang, Malaysia, Sunway Carnival Mall is currently expanding its retail footprint. The mall’s MYR 500 million (US$118.1 million) expansion exercise will see the mall doubling its retail space to 1 million square feet with a confirmed occupancy of 95 percent to date.

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The mall expansion is scheduled to open on 1st April 2022 and is expected to attain 100 percent occupancy by the second half of 2022. It also anticipates annual visitation to reach 12 million once completed.

With the additional retail space, the number of shops is set to increase by 60 percent from 220 shops to 350 shops. The expansion plan is expected to bring about economic and social multipliers with an additional 1500 new jobs created for the local community.

Source: Sunway

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

“The seeding thought for Sunway Malls is to deliver a more comprehensive retail brand presence beyond Klang Valley into other key urban markets. It is about growing, curating and completing the retail mix for the Penang market,” said HC Chan, CEO of Sunway Malls & Theme Parks.

“In essence, our intention is to create a wholesome lifestyle experience that is engaging, interactive and elevated for everyone to enjoy no matter their preference. Brick-and-mortar will still be relevant post pandemic. A visit to the mall is considered as a social event, a time to meet friends, make new friends, and buy quality merchandise,” said Chai Wen Yew, Sunway Carnival Mall General Manager.

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