Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Convenience Stores


A rather strange topic to want to write about but I've recently noticed just how many of the damn things there are within a 2km radius of Bukit Bintang.
Perhaps I should plot them on the Google map link and you'll see exactly what I mean.....
Changkat Bukit Bintang has 3,Jalan Alor has 4, Tengkat Tong Shin 3....loads of 'em!
It seems that every empty shop-lot I stumble across these days is turned into a Convenience Store,there are 3 or 4 local chains plus loads of independents and they often open next door to each other.
They all sell the same things,mainly stuff that has no expiry date or best before date.Soft Drinks and Potato Chips seem to be the most popular lines judging by how much space they are allocated in-store.
They never seem to be busy,the rents are certainly not cheap...I just wonder how they all manage to make a profit.
The big 7-Eleven on the corner of Changkat Bukit Bintang and Tengkat Tong Shin (Opposite the Radius Hotel) used to be a great 24hr food stop a few years back and is now a great big convenience store,although they frequently run out of Marlboro Lights,turning it into an inconvenience store!
Customer Service in heavily-touristed areas is OK but sometimes you have to wonder if they are not running some sort of "care in the community" programme and employing poor unfortunates who couldn't get work anywhere else.
I guess the only thing worse than the proliferation of Convenient Convenience Stores is the abundance of Foot Massage places that are also experiencing a boom around Bukit Bintang.

1 comment:

  1. I suspect they make money mostly from cigarettes, beverages and prepaid reload coupons.

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