New stores buoy Mr. DIY Malaysia’s Q2 sales while shoppers tighten budget

Malaysian home goods retailer Mr. DIY reported a rise in its revenues in the second quarter of the year despite seeing weaker spending among its shoppers – thanks to the support of newly opened shops. The company, which handles the operations of eponymous stores in Malaysia and Brunei, reported making 1.196 bn Malaysian ringgit (MYR, EUR 247.15 mio) in April to June 2024, up 8.78 per cent from the same quarter last year.

“[This was] primarily driven by positive contributions from new stores. During the quarter, the group opened 42 net new stores, bringing the total store count as at [the first six months of 2024] to 1,340. This marked an increase of 14.7 per cent [year on year] compared to the corresponding period in the previous year,” Mr. DIY disclosed to the Malaysian bourse.

Tills were more active during the period, with the total number of transactions rising 13 per cent to 46.2 million. However, Mr. DIY noticed that customers were buying less, with the average basket size going down 3.8 per cent. “[This was] mainly due to lower items per basket, likely as a result of tightening household spend,” it said in its financial report.

Still, the second quarter performance of Mr. DIY was better than its showing in the first, with revenues going up 4.7 per cent compared to the January to March 2024 period.

Mr. DIY attributed this to holiday spending in the predominantly Islamic countries during the latter quarter. Among others, Malaysia and Brunei marked Eid al-fitri – the biggest Muslim holiday, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, the fasting month – in April, as well as Eid-al-Adha (the feast of the sacrifice) in June.

In multicultural Malaysia, the Buddhist holiday Vesak – which marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of founder Siddhartha Gautama – was observed in May; and in June, the birthday of the designated Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) of Malaysia was celebrated.

For the first half of the year, the company’s revenues grew 9 per cent to MYR 2.339 bn, Mr. DIY reported, with total transactions up 14.4 per cent to 90.4 million. Average basket size for the period, meanwhile, softened by 4.7 per cent.

Sales in Malaysia accounted for almost all of the take, contributing MYR 2.325 bn, while Brunei covered MYR 22.87 mio.

Investment in lifestyle retail chain

Mr. DIY said prospects for the rest of the year were good given improving customer sentiment and a better business environment. “The Group remains focused on growing revenue and earnings sustainably while…