MR DOLLAR, known colloquially as “Kedai Harga Tetap”, has announced that it will not raise prices at its stores, stating it was not in consumers’ interests to do so at this time.
The fixed price concept store that is part of home improvement retail giant MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Berhad said its fixed price policy of RM2 and RM5 will be maintained at its 50-plus stores nationwide into the foreseeable future.
MR D.I.Y. Group marketing head Alex Goh said Malaysians are under a lot of pressure when it comes to spending on food and household essentials for their families and themselves and are more conscious of the increased price.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has strained the global supply chain. Freight and forex charges have increased, there is a scarcity of labour, and recent Russian-Ukraine developments have caused oil prices to soar.
“All of this has had a cumulative effect on the price of goods, and understandably, many retailers have been forced to raise prices simply to stay in business,” he explained.
Goh said the company would do its part to starve off price increases for as long as possible to help consumers.
“Using our direct relationships with manufacturers and suppliers, the economies of scale with our group’s 900 stores nationwide, and a stringent application of data discipline and analytics, we have been able to mitigate much of this impact without passing on costs to our customers.
“Having a fixed-priced store that they can depend on will give Malaysians the peace of mind they need to ensure their families and loved ones have what they need, without straining their wallets. We believe it is not in the customers’ best interests to raise prices now,” said Goh.
He pointed out that due to the price increase of goods, the company had noticed that Malaysians were actively seeking out value or dollar concept stores for their everyday essentials.
“Customers today are smart. They realized that they could stretch their ringgit further by shopping in stores like MR DOLLAR and our survey shows that the search for value hasn’t diminished; we are growing from strength to strength.”
Goh also shared some of their customers’ verbatim comments during a recent survey by MR DOLLAR to gauge views about the relevance and appeal of dollar concept stores.
One of the respondents, Aisya, said she usually spent between RM30 – RM50 per visit to the store.
“I visit MR DOLLAR three to four times a month. The prices are affordable and fixed. It is convenient because I don’t have to go to other stores to find household essentials and I can estimate how much my family and I should spend daily or weekly on our purchases,” said the 27-year old private sector employee from Kajang.
“It’s very convenient and easy. My family and I don’t have to do price comparisons on products. We don’t need to spend time doing research,” said 48-year-old executive Phang, echoing the sentiment of Aisya.
