Monday, 26 July 2010

Parkson postpones entry into Kingdom


A shopper enters a Parkson shop in China. The company has delayed the opening of a department store in Phnom Penh until 2012. Bloomberg

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 26 July 2010 15:01 Jeremy Mullins

MALAYSIA-based retail chain Parkson Holdings Bhd has pushed back its entrance to Cambodia until 2012, according to a company spokesperson.

The retailer had targeted early 2011 as the launch date for its first Phnom Penh department store, but “the earlier identified project was delayed, and we are now looking at other alternatives,” said company spokesperson Quah Le Ching.

She declined to elaborate on the reasons behind the delay, but said the firm was still looking to make its entry into the Kingdom by 2012.

“This is a natural extension of our expansion strategy into the Indochina retail market,” she said.

A subsidiary of Lion Diversified Holdings Bhd, Parkson presently operates 44 department stores in China, 35 in Malaysia, and six in Vietnam.

An online statement said that the company aimed to add 12 additional stores in its existing three markets by the end of 2010, and would spend US$78 million increasing floor space by between 15 and 20 percent.

Some 70 percent of Parkson’s revenue presently comes from China.

Lion also operates significant steel, motor and tyre businesses regionally.

Quah Le Ching did not reply to a request for comment on the proposed location of the postponed store.

No comments: