Carrefour Expansion Still On

Carrefour Malaysia is going ahead with the expansion of operations with the opening of two new branches in Selangor, despite news that the French retail giant is to exit its Southeast Asia business.

Carrefour Malaysia chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Shamsudin said, the two new hypermarkets are in Puchong Utama and Seksyen 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 had many loyal customers.

Apart from Malaysia,Carrefour, the world's second-biggest retailer is also said to be selling off its business in Singapore and Thailand.

Carrefour today received the Halal Certification Malaysia (SHM)for its important 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 undertaken as an appreciation for our loyal customers," Abdul Aziz said.

With the SHM, 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 project which began at Carrefour Putrajaya will be expanded to other branches throughout the country and will not be restricted to just the three sections but to all others.

Meanwhile, Carrefour also plans to increase the sales of food products from Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)to 11 per cent in 2011 compared to 10 per cent this year.

Source: Bernama