Kuantan shoppings

Kuantan though progressive in one way, has remained stagnated in other ways. Shopping malls and complexes in Kuantan for example are very conservative. They have their locally grown supermarkets having their stores all over the town, but the products they sell are rather similar and not really of high quality. They are what I call mundane products. The variety is there but the quality remains very low. They are actually the bigger versions of the main street shops or even corner shops.

And most other shops in Kuantan Town are really similar to the main street shops/corner shops variety.

Then a trend became apparent when more shopping complexes were built, but again the these are what I call the duplicated of main street shops/corner shops, but in this case these are shops in a more formal environment, centrally air conditioned and more comfortable for shoppers to shop in. And the products sold became more specialized and specific.

Then after, bigger and more sophisticated shopping centres and supermarkets came into being; bigger floor area, selling more varied products and more organized, a part of the chain of national supermarkets, close to hypermarket but cannot really be classified as such.

Recently a new shopping complex was being built. It incorporates a hypermarket, and the facilities to be built are for higher end consumers. A hotel complex and conference facilities included. And also included are areas for the local business community to show off their products (and handicrafts I presume), like places known as Malay Town, Chinese Town and Indian Town. These I trust will make these Towns unique in that they will sell products (and handicrafts) to cater for all Malaysians but of origin by these various communities. Similar to what are available for example in Kota Baru (Kelantan, Malaysia) they have Pasar Siti Khtijah where local Malay products (and handicrafts) are sold, and in Kuala Trengganu (Trengganu, Malaysia) they have Pasar Payang which also sell such products produced by the locals. These above mentioned Pasar actually become shopping places for local tourists, and visiting places for foreign tourists.


Currently, as far I know, Kuantan Town does not have similar shopping places for local products, places like that of Pasar Siti Khatijah and/or that like Pasar Payang. In Kuantan, one can hardly get local products (and handicrafts) of quality such as batik or songket unless you go the places where these are made. These are mostly out of the Town area. And to get to these places are in most cases a hassle, you need the transport and the guide. With the new shopping areas such as what is being built now; Malay Town, Chinese Town, and Indian Town, it is expected that shopping for local products (and handicrafts) and souvenirs will be more pleasant in Kuantan Town. However it must be borne in mind the prices of products (and handicrafts) sold must be competitive and be able to meet the local shoppers pockets and needs. Those sold in Pasar Siti Khatijah and Pasar Paying are very reasonably priced and Kuantan new shops have to compete with those.

Just as an additional information, the new complex being built also include an area for a ICT hub.

My only concern is that the population of Kuantan, which at the time of writing is less than 400,000 may not be able to sustain the turnover of these various local shops, old and new shopping malls. Even including visitors which may push the shopping population figure up to 500,000, there is still that worry as many may go to Kuala Lumpur to buy high end products and Trengganu which is just next door for the lower end products.



And anyone wanting to write about Kuantan (Pahang, Malaysia) may volunteer to join this blog by providing e-mail address (for approval) for inclusion into "Permission". (Inappropriate article published will be deleted).