KLCC Travel n Shopping Paradise

When you thought that now the whole world is practically in financial turmoil, and making money wasn't that easy, one would have to watch what they spend on and how they spend their money. But money speaks volumes; it can make or break a business, crumbles a fundamentally solid and strong bank, it can change our lifestyle or it can convey a wrong message to developers of properties that times are still good.

In Kuala Lumpur, the latter seems to be true as new developments such as huge shopping malls are sprouting up almost on a monthly basis, if not daily. Before anyone has a chance to explore what has in store for shoppers, another new shopping complex opens its doors. Many of the new ones have not even enjoyed full occupancy rate as far as anchor tenants are concerned. Why then another new mall starts its maiden launch? It all boils down to the shoppers and their spending power.

My family and I was out taking a casual stroll along the famous Bintang Walk right in the heart of the city and I remarked to my wife about the new mall in front of us that just open it's doors to the public. We looked at it and was taken in by it's glittering array of lights, much resembling that on Christmas Day; and the beautiful swaying palm trees on each side of it's grandiose main entrance. Without hesitation, we hurriedly walk across to the other side of the road and into the mall. There were 5 levels of shopping area with shops, boutiques, hair salons, jewellery shops, pharmacies, stationary, supermarkets, departmental stores, restaurants and countless numbers of others. What strikes me most is that the shops are there, but where is the crowd? Yes there were some, but with such a low traffic, I doubt any of the shops can barely make any profit. This was 3 months ago and I have re-visited the same shopping mall 3 more times. Each time I visited the place, it's still the same old story, there are no visitors!

Shoppers are there but not to this new mall but the other existing ones. Shoppers have the money; they dictates who lives and who dies in the "battle of the malls". Right now it is any body's guess how well this new mall will fare in the months to come. Only time will tell; only the shoppers will decide.....