Malaysian retail buyer Retna Malar has announced plans to set up her own marketing and training company for fresh produce suppliers and retailers following her recent resignation from supermarket group GCH Retail.
Ms Malar left her role as category manager of fruit and vegetables at GCH Retail, which runs the Giant hypermarket and Cold Storage supermarket chains in Malaysia, yesterday (23 June). Her responsibilities are to be taken on by GCH’s category manager for fruit, Siti Haidah, who is supported by Leong Hui Yi and Wong Ah Leek.
“Ms Siti has a total of 10 years of experience in the produce department, both as a head office buyer and outlet produce manager, hence you are in good hands,” said Ms Malar in a departing message to GCH Retail’s suppliers, traders and marketers.
Meanwhile, Ms Malar’s immediate future will see her take on a local marketing role with Northwest Cherry Growers, after which she plans to launch her own consulting company.
“For the next two months, I will be focused on the Northwest cherry season,” she told Fruitnet.com. “After that, I would like to do what I always harp on about with suppliers, namely market and train.”
Ms Malar believes there is a gap in the Malaysian market for a dedicated marketing and training service for fresh produce suppliers and retailers. And with more than nine years’ experience in retail and international procurement of fruit and vegetables, she plans to cater to this need with the launch of her own company, All About Fresh Produce.
“I think in this market there is no independent party doing this,” she explained. “The growers ultimately want to grow a good product, the exporters are too tied up with exporting and even if they do have a marketing arm, it’s sometimes not tailored to suit the Malaysia market. Also, the importers don’t want to get tangled up with marketing and just want to move containers.
“While marketing `of the product` is not that much of a victim, now training is too much work for everybody,” she added. “In Malaysia people are not equipped with the knowledge to handle fruit and vegetables and if there is wastage they take that line off.”
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