Double-digit growth rates in Malaysia

The Malaysian home improvement sector is likely to grow by 10.9 per cent annually between 2018 and 2023, even as buyers gravitate towards cheap but high-value goods, according to Frost & Sullivan, a consultancy firm . In market research released as part of the public listing prospectus submitted by Mr. DIY to Bursa Malaysia - the Malaysian stock exchange - Frost & Sullivan estimates that the country's home improvement retail sector, which was valued at MYR 6.9 bn (Malaysian ringgit; EUR 1.5 bn) in 2018, will grow into an MYR 11.6 bn (EUR 2.6 bn) market in 2023. The market researchers categorise the sector into two: hardware and electrical items, and household and furnishings.
When it comes to sales channels, traditional, single-product, family-owned home improvement businesses are still dominant, but they are giving way to multi-product, omnichannel retail chains.
Frost & Sullivan attributes the low share of home improvement in total retail sales (only 2.9 per cent) to easy access to cheap labour. Malaysia, like other Southeast Asian markets, has a do-it-for-me rather than a do-it-yourself culture, the research company notes.