A day in

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala LumpurLiterally meaning “muddy river confluence” is the capital and most populous city in Malaysia. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country, in terms of population and economy. It is poised to become the global Islamic Financing hub with an increasing number of financial institutions providing Islamic Financing.

Kuala Lumpur is the sixth most visited city in the world, with 8.9 million tourist per year.Tourism here is driven by the city’s cultural diversity, relatively low costs, and wide gastronomic and shopping variety. (as KL is mainly known for its eating and shopping).

Shopping in Kuala Lumpur is one of travel’s greatest pleasures! Kuala Lumpur alone has 66 shopping malls and it is the retail and fashion hub for Malaysia. In 2000, the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism introduced the mega sale event for shopping in Malaysia. The mega sale event is held three times a year — in March, May and December — during which all shopping malls are encouraged to participate to boost Kuala Lumpur as a leading shopping destination.

Journal content

where i stay

what i do

what i see

what i think

what i spot

What i feel

WHERE I STAYBukit bintangthe shopping and entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The area has long been Kuala Lumpur’s most prominent retail belt that is home to many landmark shopping centres, al-fresco cafés, swanky bars, night markets, as well as hawker-type eateries. This area is popular among tourists and locals, especially among the youths

wolo hotel - bukit bintangIt’s a budget - boutique hotel. location is very strategic, surrounded by shopping bukit bintang main shopping malls, food and monorail within walking distance.following the W hotel trend, wolo hotelis hip and trendy, the reception are well design with lot of artworks (origami pegasus sculpture, recycle art wall), room was minimalist but catchy, toileteries are design and branded. at the bottom there’s a french-korean bakery filled with young executive and business traveller. It prove Kl is following the lifestyle trends going on around to cater the local and foreigner.

What i do... Equiped with sketch book, a pen, pair of shades, ipad and iphone 6, i try to understand what’s happenning in KL golden triangle and around.

Champs-Elysées and Times Square combinedK.L.’s latest temple of consumerism

they saybukit bintang is ....

What i see...

Starhill Gallery Profile : probably the most luxurious mall in the whole kl. upmarket shopping centre brands : Lv (flagship),gucci , debenhams,sephora, art gallery, Luk yu teahouse, starhill tea salontarget : watch aficionado, culinary experience attraction :locals take a long trip all the way here just to try out the “Flintstones toilet”.

PavilionProfile : diverse tenant mix which makes it one of the most successful malls in Kuala Lumpurbrands :royal selangor, mango, zara, tiffany, miumiu , burberry, parkson, tangstarget : middle-upper segment of societyattraction :Malaysia’s previous pm, Mahathir Mohamad opened his very own bakery here.

Berjaya TimesProfile :13th biggest shopping mall in the worldbrands : target : middle-class shopping mall offering youth fashion targetedattraction : largest indoor theme park in Malaysia & imax

Sungei WangProfile : the oldest mall in the area it remains a 100%-occupancy mall with the highest visiting traffic in Malaysiabrands :target : local, chinese, budget savy teenagerattraction : trendy Asian-inspired fast-retail fashion at bargain prices

farenheit 88Profile :hip & trendy shopping mallbrands : Uniqlo, parkamayatarget : middle - class , teenagerattraction :Japanese and Korean fashion

lot 10Profile : degraded shopping malls because of the age of the building. It was from high end to mid classbrands :H&M, zaratarget : middle-class, food havenattraction : food court Hutong

suria KLCCProfile : Luxury mall podium floors of the Petronas Twin Towers, and their 170-meter-high Skybridge.It has everything from luxury goods to everyday itemsbrands :Parkson, Isetan, Burberry, dvf, cold storage, harrods, mamma santarget : tourists, high class, middle classattraction : twin tower, aquaria, kl park

PublikaProfile : Creative retail. Urban centre for creative activitybrands :Big, White elephants, Local creative brands, coffee cafestarget : Expats,Quirky young peopleattraction : Big, dining

What i think...

Caffeine culturethe first wave would be the local coffee in kopitiams. The second wave of coffee was all about baristas doling out fancy lattes in multinational chainsthe third wave, on the other hand, places equal emphasis on the behind-the-scenes factors. That’s the essence of third wave coffee: an understanding that every step of production, from farmer to roaster to barista, is vital in creating a great cup of coffee.

For a movement that focuses so much on the natural flavour of coffee, the third wave is rather reliant on science, as demonstrated by glossy gadgets and expensive tools. Here’s another trend to know about, A spin-off of the regular iced coffee, the cold brew trend has the industry clamouring for the title of ‘the best’. And just like a steaming cup of foamy latte with a panda etched on top, the cold brew process is complex.

The coffee industry is in the thick of improvement by way of scientific research, In a few years, will coffee take the route of molecular gastronomy, sometimes criticised as ‘soulless’? investors are also turning a keen eye to the third wave. It’s new, it’s stylish, it’s trending on social media

Grocery cultureThe fresh produce concept ,healthy and organic movement . Fresh produce is a main driver for consumers in deciding where to shop.This is an uplifting trend for the future of public health. today’s Gen Z kids are more up-to-date on healthy food trends and are more inclined towards culinary experimentation than ever before.

Shoppers want more product curation. “Companies are now scaling back stores and getting them more focused to specific customers, instead of a one-store-fits-all approach.”in Big and Sam’s products are merchandised based on story telling. it’s more impulsive and more trustworthy.

Bighttp://thebiggroup.co/BIG/

Sam’shttp://www.samsgroceria.com/

Junkyard cultureAntique

go lokal culturepatriotism

Hijab culturehijabista (hee.jah.bee.stahz )fashion-forward hijab-wearers: With a rise of affluence coupled with the desire to practice their faith, the number of hijabistas in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta is getting bigger.

hijab means coverit’s a fashion trend for modern muslim It’s not really the most uptodate trend, however, it’s part of malaysian lifestyle; stylish in faith

What i spot...

scallop

merchandisingattractive display with good story telling; vitamin b selection, local produce rice

suspended displayway to display clothes

round display

green livingbrown bag take outhydrophonic vegetable display, pluck it off the roots when you need it

self scanBring around the scanner to check the prices & ingredients

Huge menu

promotional messageretail for charity & mystery gift

tone of voicecheerful, educative and inspiring

Handrown illustrationbringing humanism to the commercial interior

playful typographytreatment of text (signage, category, etc)

Light bulb fixture

led ads everywhere

What i FeelShopping Malls in KL is huge! and very well situated and connected in the golden triangle area. Most architecture are very monolithic and feels like it’s built in the 80s-90s and the retail shops are very outdated including those in suria KLCC, lack of lighting, lack of shopper marketing input, etc. However, for the restaurants and supermarket, they are very nice and well designed.

Most of retail trends are inspired by Singapore trend, except hijab. The grow of gourmet coffee culture, restoration products, fitness, are similar with what’s happenning in other SEA capital cities (which are inspired by Singapore and HK). One thing is very distinct of KL compared other big cities in SEA is; ‘to your face’ racial talk. Once they found out i’m Indonesian, they’ll straight away guessed i must be chinese, and they will talk about religion and racial economy condition in KL. Which makes me somehow notice and could distinct that some shops in those shopping mall belongs to the Malays, Chinese, or others. Overall, the fact it has 66 shopping malls and few are the biggest in the world, KL definitely has potential for retail experience to be improve and grow.

That’s all...

‘Til next stop!