Mustafa tackles overcrowding

Retailer plans to shift high-volume products to new premises located nearby in July

Cosmetics and toiletries are crowd-pullers at Mustafa Centre.

That is why, to tackle overcrowding, the popular Little India retailer is planning to shift the sale of these high-volume products to new premises in July.

This was revealed to The Sunday Times yesterday by Mr Shamim Ahmad, Mustafa's building maintenance and safety manager.

The retailer occupies premises at 145 and 151, Syed Alwi Road.

Extn-4, a building located just down the road, is due to open in end-July.

Mustafa was fined $17,000 by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in January for two fire safety violations, one of which was overcrowding on the first floor at No. 145.

Then, Mustafa introduced new methods of crowd control, such as shifting mobile phone retailers to No. 151. Mobile phones are another crowd-puller.

But such measures have not been sufficient, it seems.

The first floor at 145, Syed Alwi Road is now the subject of scrutiny by the SCDF in its court order against the mall for breaching the 431-patron limit.

A pre-trial conference for the application for the court order will be held on Wednesday. Drawn up last Tuesday, the application was made with the aim of suspending business operations on the first floor.

When The Sunday Times visited Mustafa yesterday, electronic display boards outside the entrances showed 406 patrons on the first floor at 3.50pm.

Mr Shamim Ahmad said there are also plans to relocate jewellery retailers, currently at the basement of No. 151, to the first floor of No. 145.

Jewellery, a luxury item, is unlikely to be a crowd magnet.

Some experts give the thumbs-up to such an approach.

'People are being drawn by the goods sold on the first floor. Replanning the areas can help to balance out the crowd,' said Ms Belinda Huang, architect and partner of ARC Studio.

Mr Colin Tan has other ideas.

The 50-year-old research head at property consultancy Chesterton International believes the only solution would be for the management to 'look at its margins and what will bring better returns', and reduce the variety of goods it offers.

'In the long term, it should find somewhere affordable to carry its goods. In the short term, it must select which goods to carry, and which to phase out.'

But he acknowledged that this would be 'tampering with the formula' of the retailer. It is famed for selling everything from household necessities to cameras and TV sets.

Regulars of Mustafa agree.

Painting supervisor Kathiravan Kathir, who frequents the place every two weeks, said: 'I like that all the items are here. If they cut down on the goods, I'd go to places near my house like West Mall and Jurong Point.'

The 35-year-old Singaporean has bought all manner of things, from groceries to laptops, from Mustafa.

Source: Sunday Times, 4 Apr 2010