Sales volume stagnant in 26% of 70 Tukar shops audited

PETALING JAYA: Nearly 30% of the grocery shops under the Retail Stores Transformation Programme (Tukar) recorded a decline in sales, and 10 stores had to close their businesses.

According to the 2013 Auditor-General’s Report, the 10 faced lack of capital, difficulties in securing supplies and managing their finances.

A total of RM149mil was allocated from 2011 to 2013 to implement Tukar, which provided participating neighbourhood grocery shops with financial assistance and training. It aimed to modernise their businesses and allow them to better cope with the increasing competition.

The National Audit Department, which visited 70 of the 1,609 Tukar shops in the course of its audit, said 18 stores or 26% of the shops recorded no increase or a decline in sales.

The report said that while the pro­gramme had, in general, managed to help participants increase their competitiveness, there were some weaknesses that had to be dealt with.

One issue was the failure of store owners to adopt the computerised Point of Sales system due to a lack of training from the suppliers.

“Another factor is the advanced age of some shop owners to understand the system, resulting in failure to utilise its ability to monitor sales, stocks, use of barcodes and an inventory database that can be directly linked to Tukar’s consultants.”