Friday July 4, 2008
By ZAZALI MUSA
JOHOR BARU: Tesco Stores (M) Sdn Bhd says the surge in the prices of fuel and goods has changed the shopping habits of Malaysian consumers.
Chief executive officer Chris Bush said most consumers now preferred to shop at outlets closest to their homes or offices to save on fuel.
He said consumers also preferred to shop where they could get almost everything under one roof, whether products or services, instead of going from one place to another like before.
“Consumers are becoming more price-sensitive and only go for goods that give them value for their money,” Bush said at the opening of the seventh Tesco Extra store in Plentong yesterday.
The store is one of eight former Makro Cash & Carry stores that Tesco took over last year.
Bush said the previous Makro Plentong store was demolished and Tesco spent RM80mil on the new outlet while six other Tesco Extra stores were refurbished from existing Makro stores.
He said the 25,000 sq ft Tesco Extra Plentong – comprising 10,000 sq ft hypermarket and 15,000 sq ft mall – was the biggest Tesco store in the country.
Bush said the company was currently building six Tesco hypermarkets – in Bukit Indah and Desa Tebrau in Johor, Klang and Semenyih in Selangor, Ipoh and Kampar in Perak – and one Tesco Extra in Prai, Penang.
Marketing director Paul Morris said 25% of the products in Tesco Extra were for small businesses and the balance for regular customers.
He said the hike in prices of goods had also resulted in higher demand for fresh products such as vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood as many people now cooked at home.
“Customer feedback shows they are spending more on fresh products and cutting down on non-food items,” said Morris.
He said Tesco's in-house brand was becoming more popular with shoppers as the products were as good as other leading brands.
Morris said brand loyalty was no longer an issue, except for cosmetics and skincare products, as more consumers were going for generic brand goods that were equally good in terms of quality but low in pricing.
