Don't compare us to Low Yat Plaza, Mara Digital traders say
KUALA LUMPUR - Traders at Mara Digital mall here say they may not be doing as well as their contender Low Yat Plaza but are surviving.
Furthermore, traders say those in Low Yat have direct suppliers and due to that they are unable to compete with prices.
Nazrul Naim Abdul Jabar, a trader since the mall opened in 2015 said Low Yat has more tech gadgets as compared to them.
“Lowyat is bigger and has many more items.
“But still we are surviving. We did not fail,” he said.
This comes as some on social media claim that business in Mara Digital Mall was slow and was as good as "dead"
Mara Digital Mall was opened after an incident at Low Yat Plaza in 2015 involving a Malay man who was caught stealing at a local mobile phone store in the mall.
After the incident, the man returned with a few people to the shopping mall later at night for revenge and caused RM70,000 in damages to the shop.
To break the monopoly of being held by Chinese, the government had initiated a single-race digital shopping mall, situated within the Mara building at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur.
To encourage businesses, the government foot 6-months of rental costs for vendors.
However, Mara Digital Mall Kuantan was closed in 2018 while Mara Digital Mall Johor ceased operations in 2019, with both malls closing down within a span of three months. The Rural Development Ministry was quoted as saying it was forced to close due to low sales.
Another trader at Mara Digital Mall in Kuala Lumpur, Syifaa’ Ahmad Safri has just opened here business here six months ago and plans to be a successful entrepreneur.
“We are still new compared with Lowyat and we can’t say much since we have different expectations.
“Plus, we are focusing on social media services,” she said.
One of the laptop shop owners, Azmil Asrop said business was slow but was surviving.
“To say that I failed the business here, I didn’t. I am still surviving with my regular customers.
“Plus, the rental rate here is not that expensive,” he said.
Furthermore, he said they can't compete with Low Yat Plaza traders have their own direct suppliers.
