Large-scale, international malls have targeted Cambodia in recent years in a bid to capitalise on Cambodia’s increasing middle class population, and Lion Group’s Phnom Penh Megamall proves no exception. The Malaysian retailer is aiming to open the doors to its first mall in Phnom Penh along Russian Boulevard by the beginning of 2018. Hassan Cambodia Development Co., Ltd general manager Rofy Othsman met up with Post Property to discuss the commencement and features of the mall.

When did Phnom Penh Megamall begin works on its Phnom Penh-based centre?

This mall began construction at the end of 2012. Back then, our ambitions weren’t just solely providing entertainment and a shopping haven for people in the country, but also as a tourist attraction site. Our ambitions were especially geared towards providing job opportunities to nearly 4,000 people per day, since this building is measured at 165,000 square metres.

What are the special features of this mall?

The mall will open from 9am-10pm, while the entertainment portion opens until 2am to cater for the nine theatres, 30-lane bowling alley and other entertainment services that will stay open. This mall has the capacity to hold 1,500 cars, and 3,000 motorbikes in its parking lot. The ground floor of this mall is a supermarket; aromatics are sold on the first floor, women’s beauty products on the second, clothes on the third, men’s clothes and other appliances on the fourth, food and drinks on the fifth, electronic devices on the sixth, modern IT devices and gadgets on the seventh, household furniture on the eighth, and lastly, cinemas and bowling lanes on the ninth floor.

International malls have been jumping to gain a foothold in Phnom Penh. Why is there now a big market for shopping centres in the city centre?

Phnom Penh Megamall is mainly aimed at the locals, saving them the time and money of shopping overseas because famous brands have arrived in Cambodia. Up until recently, only those who can afford to shop overseas would do so but now consumer spending power is rising which is an indicator of Cambodia’s robust economic growth and rising GDP per capita. This is then being reflected in the fact that people are clamoring for trendy things and they will be on offer at Parkson.

What propelled you to introduce such an enormous mall to Cambodia and how was this achieved from an investment standpoint?

We were able to introduce the international standards of a mall to the country via cooperation with our investment partners who hail from foreign countries. The Parkson is a subsidiary company of Lion Group which is a Malaysian investor that currently plans to further expand the mall’s flagship stores despite already boasting a total of 150 malls in Asia. As for Cambodia, it’s better to just focus on this one before investing elsewhere.