Malaysia's Bukit Bintang aims to become the new premier shopping district.
THE YTL group is rejuvenating the Bukit Bintang downtown district into a premier shopping area in Malaysia and on the world map.
YTL owns the Ritz-Carlton and J W Marriott hotels and the Starhill and Lot 10 shopping complexes in Bukit Bintang.
Bintang is the Malay word for star and YTL aims to make Bintang the rising star on the shopping and entertainment scene.
YTL managing director Francis Yeoh said the group intends to put Bintang on the tourism map of Malaysia and the world.
"We want to create not only an exciting new attraction but a complete new lifestyle. Bintang will be a new icon for the pulse of the city."
Yeoh said although the Bintang area has a long history as an entertainment and shopping hub since World War II, the existing infrastructures were not well-planned and not shopper-friendly.
By December, the area will have a new look. There will be the "Bintang Walk" - a landscaped pedestrian walkway -from the Lot 10 shopping centre to the J W Marriott hotel.
And there is the "Bintang Steps" - an idea borrowed from the famous Spanish steps of Rome - along the internal road between Starhill shopping centre and KL Plaza.
The "steps" will also sport an artist colony with Malaysian artists painting and displaying their works for sale, very much like the Montmarte in Paris.
New outdoor restaurants will create a vibrant new atmosphere and give shoppers a wider selection in dining at Bintang.
The move to "re-energise" the Bintang shopping area is timely as from May this year, the duty-free list has been extended to branded items ranging from handbags, luggage, shoes and other accessories which now cost 30 per cent cheaper.
Yeoh said Starhill and Lot 10 shopping centres are drawing new tenants while existing tenants are expanding their shops.
However, Yeoh said customer service is just as important as price.
Adopting the hotel concierge concept, a customer service centre will be set up in Starhill shopping centre.
The centre concierge will valet-park cars and collect items from various shops, leaving shoppers free to wander around unencumbered by the packages.
Shoppers can also have their items packaged or gift-wrapped and delivered.