KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Home improvement retailer Mr D.I.Y Group (M) Bhd (Mr D.I.Y), which debuted on Bursa Malaysia’s main market today, is allocating a capital expenditure of RM438 million for its business expansion over the next two years.
Chief executive officer Adrian Ong said the company plans to increase the number of its retail stores under the brand Mr D.I.Y, Mr Toy and Mr Dollar to 900 outlets nationwide by Dec 2021.
To-date, Mr D.I.Y has 670 stores across Malaysia and four in Brunei.
“Our focus is to continue opening more stores in our markets in Malaysia and Brunei. Our home improvement stores under the Mr D.I.Y brand will continue to be the main focus for growth, followed by Mr Dollar and Mr Toy.
“We will finance (the expansion) using the strong cash generative capability of our business, which does not only fund our growth but also provide sufficient cashflow for us to pay dividends to our shareholders,” said Ong.
He said this during a virtual press conference in conjunction with the company’s listing on Bursa Malaysia’s main market today.
“This year alone, we have opened 81 stores and grown our store network by 13.7 per cent. Although brick and mortar stores remain our primary growth strategy, we have also grown our e-commerce business to offer an omnichannel shopping experience to our customers,” he said.
Moving forward, Ong said the group will continue to invest in strengthening its business and plans to grow its e-commerce segment which saw a 500 per cent rise in revenue in the first half of this year.
He said the group is cautiously optimistic that its businesses would bring value to the shareholders in the long-term.
“Under the Mr D.I.Y brand, we invested with a target of payback in two years and that is a very good payback.
“That is the benchmark which we had set for our businesses, but it is too early to set the payback period for our new businesses,” he added.
As at 12.01pm, Mr D.I.Y advanced 12 sen to RM1.72, with 24.80 million shares traded.
— Bernama
