SHOPPING CENTRES IN THE EAST COAST

By Anthony Dylan Anak Frankie Jurem

For many of us living in the Klang Valley, we tend to believe that the best place for shopping centres is within our reach. However, you would be surprised that shopping centres outside Klang Valley can be just as good. Kuching has shown that with the Spring, Plaza Merdeka, Vivacity Megamall and AEON Mall Kuching Central, retail offerings have gone closer to the patrons.

The East Coast states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan also boast some good shopping centres. I headed out to Kuantan, Pahang before making my way up the coastal road into Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu recently. I did not have much time to visit Kota Bahru, Kelantan this time. The latest shopping centre to open there was AEON Mall Kota Bahru on 28^th May 2016. The net lettable area is close to 640,000 sqft over 3 retail floors. AEON Mall Kota Bahru is also home to the only UNIQLO store in Kelantan.

Before this, KB mall, which has 4 storeys of retail floors, opened in July 2004. Kota Bahru has a catchment of close to 560,000 people. Kelantan though, has no cinemas. They would also have a time for Friday prayers between 1230pm till 230pm when the shopping centres would close.

I started off my tour of shopping centres by heading to Kuantan. Only three shopping centres remain popular. In order of popularity, they are East Coast Mall, Kuantan City Mall and Berjaya Megamall Kuantan. Kuantan has a population of 557,000 people.

Of the 3, only Berjaya Megamall is a strata titled shopping centre. This is where shop units are also individually owned. It was the first large format shopping centre in Kuantan when it opened in the year 2000. Today, it is popular only because of Kuantan Megalanes (Bowling Alley) and the newly opened Harvey Norman as most shops remain vacant. They have also just repainted the façade.

Kuantan City Mall opened just a stone’s throw away (literally) on 12^th October 2017. This shopping centre has 468,000 sqft of net lettable area across 6 retail floors. The shopping centre has a GSC cinema, Parkson Department Store, Jaya Grocer, Sport Direct, Popular Bookstore, Kaison, Padini and Brands Outlet as the main draws. It also has the only Chagee in a shopping centre in Kuantan. It also added a roller skate venue, “City Roller” and “Polar Bear Snow Land” which is a children’s snow themed play park.

Interestingly, the tenant mix of Kuantan City Mall and East Coast Mall do not repeat itself in most cases. You can only get Sports Direct, Brands Outlet, Jaya Grocer, Popular Bookstore and Kaison in Kuantan City Mall.

East Coast Mall, which is just a short walk across the road, has 4 storeys of retail floors and a slightly higher net lettable area of 485,000 sqft compared to Kuantan City Mall. East Coast Mall commenced business on 30^th April 2008 and was bought by CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust in 2011 and underwent a RM60 million asset enhancement initiative which was unveiled in May 2015.

Today, the shopping centre is typically fully occupied with GSC Cinemas, Parkson Department Store, AEON Big hypermarket, JD Sports, Padini, Max Fashion, Baby Shop and Cotton On as the anchors. They do also have similar brands like what you can find in the Klang Valley. You can get Guess, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Bonia, Braun Buffel, Christy Ng, Charles and Keith, Swatch, Poh Kong, Habib, Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Baskin Robbins, Bananabro, Dolly Dim Sum, Richeese Factory and even Nando’s here.

The next day, I drove about 60 km up towards Kemaman, Terengganu for breakfast at Hai Peng Kopitiam in the town of Chukai. After a simple breakfast of coffee and nasi dagang, I drove on for about 30 km to Mesra Mall. This shopping centre is located in Kemasik and surrounded by Petronas Oil and Gas facilities.

Mesra Mall is a one-storey shopping centre with at grade or surface parking facility only. Parking is free of charge. It was opened on 10^th October 2009 with a net lettable area of 310,000 sqft. It is managed by the same management as Suria KLCC and Alamanda Putrajaya. At the point of visit, visually the occupancy rate is near capacity.

It has a TGV cinema, a U sports arena for badminton, futsal and cue sports; U Bowl for a 24-lane bowling alley and TMC Supermarket and General Merchandise store. Fashion retail is limited to Carlo Rino, Hush Puppies, Verns, Giordano, Levi’s being familiar. It has a strong dining section with a professionally managed 12 stall food court, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Nando’s, Baskin Robbins, Secret Recipe and Pizza Hut. This shopping centre is a good example of a community shopping centre.

I left Mesra Mall and drove up the beautiful coastal road for nearly 2.5 hours over 120 km to Mayang Mall in Kuala Terengganu. Kuala Terengganu has a population of about 400,000. As I made my way, I passed by KTCC (Kuala Terengganu City Centre) Mall.

KTCC mall was the largest shopping centre when it opened on 24^th January 2020. It was the most modern shopping centre in Terengganu and had 600,000 sqft of net lettable area over 4 retail floors. The shopping centre is anchored by the Pacific Department store with MarketPlace by Pacific as their supermarket and Paragon Cinemas. They also have the only UNIQLO in Terengganu.

Mayang Mall is the latest addition and is within 200 meters from KTCC. Mayang Mall had not yet charged for parking. Opened on 5^th December 2024, it is the largest shopping centre with a net lettable area of over 725,000 sqft. and anchored by the 4^th Sogo Department store in Malaysia. They also operate the Mercato supermarket. Notable names include LC Waikiki, a soon to be opened GSC Cinemas, Sports Direct, Padini, Brands Outlet, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Padi House, Inside Scoop, Daiso, Kaison, Menate Steak Hub, babyshop, Bonia and Tomei.

If you would like to know more, do click on the following website links:

1. East Coast Mall: eastcoastmall.com.my
2. Kuantan City Mall: kuantancitymall.com.my
3. Mesra Mall: mesramall.com.my
4. Mayang Mall: mayangmall.com.my

The east coast is inching closer to the quality of a standard Klang Valley establishment.