Glitzy Malls of Asia - Kuala Lumpur

Hundreds of malls in Kuala Lumpur, billed as the fourth best shopping city in the world, continue to pull in domestic shoppers and tourists alike. Prakash Sakti checks out the newest Nu Sentral and Encorp Strand Mall.

Nu Sentral is the first integrated 'green' lifestyle retail mall, and an ultimate in connectivity, convenience and convergence; catering to the ever-changing needs of retiallers and consumers.

“Sometimes bigger really is better. That’s the prevailing shopper’s ethic in Kuala Lumpur, anyway.”

This was a statement issued by CNN this year when unveiling its top 10 shopping cities in the world.

Kuala Lumpur was ranked fourth Best Shopping City in the World for two consecutive years behind New York, Tokyo and London.

According to CNN, KL’s impressive score comes from its winning combination of high quality shopping, affordable prices and reliable sales, which can stretch for several months.

In fact, three of the world’s 10 largest malls are in Kuala Lumpur, namely One Utama – the world’s fourth largest mall with more than 650 shops and Asia’s largest indoor rock climbing facility – and Mid Valley Megamall and Sunway Pyramid.

While shopping is considered a past-time for Malaysians, another factor contributing to the mushrooming of malls in the country is the higher number of tourists coming to the country.

The World Tourist Organisation ranked Malaysia as the ninth most visited country in the world. Malaysia is also ranked second in Asia behind China as the country with the most tourist arrivals.

Last year, tourists spent RM19.8 billion on shopping, about a third of the country’s total tourism expenditure, compared to RM18.6 billion in 2012.

As domestic consumer spending in the country remains strong and tourist arrivals keep surging, the shopping scene in Malaysia is set to become much more attractive this year with new malls opening for business, especially in the Klang Valley, already home to 210 retail malls.

New malls opening this year include Nu Sentral, The Encorp Strand, D’Pulze, Main Place, Jaya Shopping Centre, Quill City Mall, The Atria, Sunway Velocity Lifestyle Mall, Sunway Putra Mall (formerly known as The Mall) and CapSquare Mall (recently refurbished).

IOI City Mall is expected to come on stream next year at the Federal Administration capital of Putrajaya.

Highly connected Nu Sentral

Nu Sentral is positioned as the first transumer (transit consumer) lifestyle retail mall in Malaysia. Its ideal location is naturally enhanced by direct connectivity to the KL Sentral Monorail station and Stesen Sentral Kuala Lumpur (SSKL).

Nu Sentral is the first integrated ‘green’ lifestyle retail mall; and an ultimate in connectivity, convenience and convergence; catering to the ever-changing needs of retailers and consumers.

Opened for business on March 29 this year, the conveniently located Nu Sentral offers 1.3 million sqf of Gross Floor Area and 270 retail lots for lease within Kuala Lumpur’s bustling transit and business hub.

Access to this urban lifestyle haven is extremely convenient as it offers ample parking –nearly 2,600 parking bays, while its location next to the SSKL means that it is also easily accessible by the LRT, monorail and KTM Komuter rail systems.

Its location and connectivity makes it ideal for suburban shoppers and urban commuters, as well as travellers who use the passenger check-in facility at the Kuala Lumpur City Air Terminal at SSKL as well as the Express Rail Link to KLIA.

Nu Sentral’s exhilarating urban lifestyle experience is spread out over nine floors and includes a cavernous main concourse for imaginative consumer engagement opportunities, and Skypark, an open air space that is suitable for social and corporate events.

On a daily basis, Nu Sentral caters to more than 30,000 people already living and working in the Kuala Lumpur Sentral CBD and a crowd of 160,000 commuters travelling on SSKL daily.

Each floor offers a themed cluster of outlets, from the groceries and daily necessities that are conveniently located on the lower ground floor to shops offering sports, accessories, books, home ware and fashion that are conveniently located on each level.

Rail passengers entering the mall on the ground floor will find themselves amidst affordable boutiques and international brand stores offering apparel from jeans and casual wear to sunglasses shoes and street fashion.

The next two fashion levels offer more up-market and international brands from intimate apparel and executive wear to European brands and more boutiques that will carry that special outfit.

For those who love sports and technology, there’s a dedicated floor offering sportswear and sports equipment, as well as gadgets and accessories including smartphones and computers.

For younger shoppers, there’s also a special floor for them offering trendy young fashion, cool accessories and lovely gift items.

The upper floors are dedicated to dining. There are casual and quick service restaurants as well as entertainment, with an 11-screen GSC cinema and a fun bowling alley plus an interesting ‘all-balls’ arcade with pool tables and foosball.

On the sixth floor, Skypark is an open airspace that is suitable for social and corporate events, offering 0.3 acre of open roof garden that can accommodate between 500 and 650 guests for an alfresco experience.

Nu Sentral was jointly developed by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) and Pelaburan Hartanah Berhad (PHB) with a Gross Development Value of over RM1 billion.

Nu Sentral adopts sustainable and green building practices and is designed in compliance with Singapore’s BCA Green Mark and Malaysia’s GBI certifications.

Boasting a five-star retail experience, Encorp Strand Mall seeks to provide all the shopping necessities for the surrounding community, with a catchment population of 1.7 million within a 5km radius.

Encorp Strand Mall

Encorp Strand Mall made a grand entry into the local shopping scene with a performance by South Korean star Kim Jong Kook during its grand opening on June 7.

The mall is part of a mixed development which includes the shopping mall, residential tower, and the Red Carpet Avenue.

The 435,000sqf three-storey mall has a multi storeycar park for 2,500 cars and is another addition to the Kota Damansara commercial hub.

Boasting a five-star retail experience, Encorp Strand Mall seeks to provide all the shopping necessities for the surrounding community, with a catchment population of 1.7 million within a 5km radius.

Encorp Strand Mall general manager Michael Chee Key said tenants include TGV Cinemas, Sam’s Grocers, US-based Little Gym, Yamaha Music School, CHAI Fashion Emporium, JKids and Daiso.

With its tagline Anything but Ordinary, the mall offers a unique experience, said Chee, pointing to the Red Carpet Avenue that is fronting the mall.

It features F&B outlets operating under a 90-ft wide and 800-ft long, covered as well as climate-controlled, and event-ready al fresco boulevard.

The mall is furnished with spacious restrooms, valet service complete with a lounge, and 2,500 parking bays.

Inside the mall, there is a 200-ft cascading waterfall that is designed to help cool down the building.

“We are different (from other nearby malls) because of our five-star services. Among other things, we will provide delivery services for our shoppers especially for grocery shopping,” Chee said.

Encorp Strand Mall has a net lettable area (NLA) of 435,000 sqf. Its tenancy mix comprises 30% education, 30% F&B outlets, 25% entertainment and 25% fashion businesses.

For the safety of its visitors, the mall has built-in high definition (HD) recording closed-circuit television (CCTV) and panic buttons in the women’s restrooms that can be used to immediately alert the management and security teams.