The Beginning

MRCA, founded in 1992, is the inspiration of 3 prominent, visionary chain retailers in Malaysia, Dato' Dr. Chin See Keat, CEO of England Optical Group (M) Sdn Bhd, Dato Eddie Choon, Executive Chairman of Poh Kong Jewellers Sdn Bhd and Mr. Wong Chee How. They had a strong belief that by pooling all resources together, Malaysian chain retailers could harness the power of networking for the expansion of chain stores and facilitate the enhancement of chain stores management through education and training.

In a little over a decade, MRCA has not only become one of the largest and more influential retail associations in Malaysia, but also one of the government's key driving force in shaping Malaysia 's retail industry. With 80 established members of diverse retail businesses and over 2,600 members' stores, it is no surprise that you could easily spot many of our members in any of Malaysia 's shopping malls. Evidently many of the MRCA members are market leaders that have gained a strong foothold in their respective industries to be listed in the enviable Malaysia Book of Records for their notable achievements.

All MRCA members are committed to developing new market opportunities by:

• Sharing market information on the availability of new locations for expansion.
• Tapping resources from each member's diversity of business and MRCA's global connections.
• Building stronger affiliation and dialogues with global counterparts and prominent business leaders.
• Facilitating stronger affinity with Malaysian government agencies and retail/tourism related organisations.

Aspirations

Vision	To be recognised as one of the most influential retail bodies in globalising Malaysian chain retailers and franchisors.
Mission	At MRCA, we believe in creating a highly supportive environment. Here is where we build our business and pool our ideas experiences and efforts together. Here, we place our members above everything else and continuously discovering opportunities for them to grow beyond the shores of Malaysia .
Aims	Promoting Malaysia as the leading international shopping destination in Asia. Building strong awareness of Malaysia retail & franchise brands globally. Facilitating the chain retailers in their global expansion. Educating and raising the standards of chain retailing management and operational skills. Developing stronger negotiation power for members to expand their businesses. Organising trade missions to explore business opportunities overseas. Harnessing market information and customer database to grow members' businesses. Fostering a strong business affiliation with counterpart organisations worldwide.

President's Note

Warm greetings from the Malaysian Retailer-Chains Association. Let’s take a ride back to memory lane, reminiscing about the achievement of MRCA since its inception in year 1992. Back then memberships were few and member’s stores consisted only a handful. The retailing industries were experiencing spurt of growth with the sprouting of potential shopping malls throughout the metropolitan area, more rampant in and around the Klang Valley. Today over a decade of retail evolution, MRCA has evolved through time and members of MRCA have grown in leaps and bounds. I am proud to say that if anyone walks into a mall in Malaysia they will surely be able to spot many of MRCA members’ stores in the shopping malls. And, I would like to pay tribute to our past President and Councils, as this is largely due to their impeccable contributions, that MRCA is what it is today. MRCA has come a long way and I am sure many of MRCA members share this same sentiment with me. As much as we would like to remember only the retail boom period where members of MRCA and other professional retailers eagerly participated in snapping up prime retail spaces, we must also vividly remember the lessons learned during the period of economic adversity. Members of MRCA collectively supported each other and persevered to keep our businesses afloat. Having weathered through a decade of ups and downs, today we are a stronger Association and better prepared to face any challenges that may come our way. Since the formation of MRCA (in 1992), various programs have been conducted in providing information and assistance to the industry, including dialogue session, business mission and seminar on relevant retailing topics. Its members are also honored to have opportunities to voice their suggestions, opinions or seek for assistances from different division of the government agencies.

When MRCA was first set up, one of the key objectives was to promote Malaysia as a shopping paradise to the world and I am proud to say that MRCA have supported many of the Government’s efforts to promote Malaysia as the international shopping destination. MRCA have also worked successfully with shopping malls management to provide shoppers with value, choice and variety.

Today, MRCA members are no longer confined to operating their shops in Malaysia. Many of MRCA members have expanded abroad and in fact competing with more established international brands. Many MRCA members are successfully operating their retail presence in Asia, Middle Eastern countries and others. This success I believe is attributed to MRCA members’ unity and their willingness to share, network and pull resources together without reservation, hence the testimonies of expansion and profitability among our members both locally and abroad.

MRCA is also a collective group of socially responsible retail business community. What it has reaped it has no apprehension to put back in benefiting the society or community, such as contributing during adverse situations like the Tsunami Relief Fund, JE Fund Raising Campaign, Malaysian For Peace Campaign, just to name a few. Every MRCA members contributed its resources and it is in these selfless acts, which strikes a balance between profitability in the business sense and humanity. We are proud to be apart of preserving the community of Malaysia, which we passionately called home.

My hope is that MRCA will continue to encourage its members to progressively contribute a bit more for the growth of the retail business community and, collectively, overtime we will attain a greater voice of influence towards the progression of the retail industry in Malaysia. To all members, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the support that you have given to both MRCA and I. Lets join our hands together and make Malaysia a truly shopping paradise! And, for those who are keen to explore the possibility of becoming our valued member, you are truly welcome to contact us.