Brunei’s GoodHome prepares to go beyond borders

The company, which currently has three stores in its home turf and is planning to open a fourth one before the end of the year, is laying the groundwork for opening its first store abroad - a three-storey standalone big box concept in the border city of Miri in Malaysian Borneo, which will have a total floor area of 60,000 ft² (5,570 m², 20,000 ft² per floor).

Once the store opens, GoodHome will become one of a handful of Bruneian retailers to cross the borders of the oil-rich sultanate, and the first  homegrown home improvement retailer to venture abroad.

In an interview, outgoing Townview Sdn Bhd  General Manager David Lau revealed that GoodHome’s first branch abroad is set to open in 2028 - 10 years after the retailer opened the doors of its flagship branch in the sultanate. Townview is the corporate entity that operates GoodHome. "We have a plan, we will go to Miri," Lau said. "We already have the place, the drawings are submitted already. Then I think also the construction should start by the end of this year," he said.

The shop - which will become the biggest outlet for GoodHome - will cater to both east Malaysians and Bruneians in the western part of the sultanate, Lau said. Currently, GoodHome services west Brunei, which is where the oil and gas operations of the sultanate are centred, through weekly door-to-door deliveries from its three stores in the capital district of Bandar Seri Begawan.

Lau disclosed that the products that will be sold in the Miri branch will be different from the ones sold in Brunei, as he pointed out that Malaysian shoppers have different preferences from Bruneian customers. Where in Brunei, the company caters to median to low end shoppers - which is 80 per cent of the country’s home improvement market - the Malaysian GoodHome will serve more upscale buyers. "The Malaysian market is median to median-high. The Malaysian people, they are looking for the better quality, branded products," Lau said. "The positioning will change. Many products will be different from here [Brunei], so we have to get them from Malaysia. We have to deal with many local suppliers."

New playground

Lau acknowledged that entering the Malaysian market will be "challenging", given the differences in market profiles as well as in the regulatory environments. But the Bruneian company has been eyeing an expansion to neighbouring Malaysia for years. Initially, it tried penetrating the country next door via Babakimpo, its former online channel. The e-commerce…