DEBENHAMS MALAYSIA Closing Down ???

What will you think of when you see Berjaya Times Square Kuala Lumpur? Shopping? Food? I-MAX Theatre? Cosmo World? DEBENHAMS?

Berjaya Times Square's main anchor tenant is none other than Debenhams, 'Britain’s Favourite Departmental Store', occupying 100,000 square feet of retail space. There are over 40 exclusive brands developed by Debenhams including Maine New England, Red Herring, Spirit, Trader Jeans and many more. Designers at Debenhams will offer original designs at affordable prices with over 26 designer brands including 'J' by Jasper Conran, ‘Pearce II Fionda’ by Ren Pearce and Andrew Fionda, Philip Treacy, ‘BDL’ by Ben de Lisi, Rocha by John Rocha and other well-known brands.

Well these are not important anymore because DEBENHAMS MALAYSIA HAS CLOSED DOWN. When I first saw the picture posted in JackSQ's blog, I was shocked to see how this DEBENHAMS - 'Britain's Favourite Departmental Store' - as "claimed" will be closing down after three years opertaing in Malaysia. It might be late to realized how far behind I was, nevertheless, it is never too late for me to blog.

Picture was adapted from JackSQ's blog

Common sense will tell you that it will close down sooner or later. You may be paying in Ringgit Malaysia (RM) but that is the converted price from Pounds Sterling + taxes + duty, etc. What you are paying for are actually Pounds. Majority of us Malaysians here don't print RM notes and why bother paying so much for some "rugged cloths" from Britain?

It may be a good news for us Malaysians but many people foresee that many 'Datins' will cry their way out as no more DEBENHAMS for them to shop anymore.

Ultimately it is not DEBENHAMS fault for closing down and it is in a process of taking over by Metrojaya. Look at the fact, I would like to quote what Beachic posted in Allo' Expat Malaysia Forum:

Hmmm... I think the problem may or may not lie with Debenhams. If you look at Time Square as a whole, it's a complete failure.

Unclear zoning (increase shoppers' search cost), poor building management(once I was locked in the toilet on a Sunday afternoon and if the genitor didn't open the door any faster, I was about to knock it down, and have you tried asking for directions from the receptionist?), very very bad retail mix, and the themepark looks more like a horror land.

As for british retailer as a whole, i.e. Debenham and Marks&Spencer, the sizes of their clothing merchandise don't really fit the Asian customers. I do agree that the quality is good, (I buy my briefs from M&S), but their pricing is also steep, comparing with similar offerings from other imported brands. The consumer behaviour here is a little different, they pursue fashion trend which is fast changing, so, they normally won't spend too much on a single item, unless it's brands like Gucci, CK, etc.

To face the fact, DEBENHAMS MALAYSIA is closing down and so does the poorly managed Berjaya Times Square Kuala Lumpur. This is not trying to degrade the popularity of Berjaya Times Square but just stating the facts here.