Its CEO HC Chan said this large-scale liquidity was a “once-in-a-life(time) booster” that was unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated.
Reporting on the company’s quarterly results today, Sunway Malls said its sales performance has defied expectations with a 19% growth year-on-year for the first quarter of 2023 (Q1 2023).
With seven malls and one digital mall, the company registered sales growth of 12% in January, 25% in February and 22% in March this year.
“Sunway Malls is off to a good start with the first quarter providing strong footing for the remaining quarters, and that this was achieved without the liquidity infusion from EPF easing,” said Chan.
According to the mall operator, one of the categories that witnessed high pent-up demand was its travel-related category, which saw a 178% growth due to the reopening of international borders.
The entertainment category jumped 52%, pushed by large blockbusters, more movie releases and healthy demand for leisure.
Meanwhile, the beauty and health and personal care categories respectively grew 21% while fashion registered a 24% growth from a year ago.
Within the fashion category, men’s fashion saw a 94% growth, while footwear also performed well with a 34% growth rate.
Other commendable segments that recorded strong growth included unisex fashion (27%), bags (26%), children wear (25%), and ladies fashion (24%) – all attributed to strong festive buying.
In terms of food and beverage, demand for dining and premium dining had accelerated by 40% while casual dining expanded by 20%.
Despite the strong quarterly results, Sunway Malls takes heed of several headwinds which may increase the cost of business going forward such as inflationary pressures, labour market shortages, global supply chain disruptions, interest rates and tariff hikes, as well as climate change.
However, the company said it remains optimistic given the strength of its branding and track record, as well as its large network of retail partners.
Notwithstanding this year’s expected challenges, Sunway Malls continues ahead with its plan to refurbish large spaces of Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Carnival.
It had also announced plans to build a mall with a retail space of 1 million sq ft in Sunway City Ipoh, which is expected to be completed by 2025.