PUTRAJAYA: Carrefour Malaysia is going ahead with the opening of two new branches in Selangor despite news that the French retail giant is exiting South-East Asia.
Carrefour Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Shamsudin said the two new hypermarkets were in
Puchong Utama and Section 23 Shah Alam.
Asked if sales had been affected by news of Carrefour’s divestment, he said there had been no impact to date as the hypermarket operator had many loyal customers.
Apart from Malaysia, Carrefour – the world’s second-biggest retailer – is also said to be selling off its businesses in Singapore and Thailand.
Carrefour yesterday received the Halal Certification Malaysia for its meat, salad bar and bakery sections from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).
“We are not targeting any increase in sales through the halal certification but it is being done as an appreciation for our loyal customers,” Abdul Aziz said.
With the certification, Carrefour becomes the first hypermarket to offer fully halal products at the three sections.
Information kiosks (I-Kiosks) are also available for customers to check the status of products being sold.
The initiative, which began at Carrefour Putrajaya, will be extended to other branches nationwide. It will also eventually cover other sections of the hypermarkets.
Carrefour plans to increase the sales of food products from small and medium enterprises to 11% in 2011 from an estimated 10% this year.
source— Bernama