BT : Supermarket? It only looks like one: owner‏

Business Times - 05 Nov 2009


Supermarket? It only looks like one: owner

URA investigates Mustafa Warehouse for unauthorised change of use

(SINGAPORE) It looks like a department store and supermarket facility but its owner insists that it isn't.

The six-storey Mustafa Warehouse on Kallang Pudding Road has been around for more than five years now, but its first two levels were shuttered for many years, although it held warehouse sales on and off.

About three weeks ago, the doors to the first two levels were opened on a 'permanent' basis and this has raised the eyebrows of some competitors, who see a department store on the first level and a supermarket on the second with rows of cashier checkout counters - just like in a retail facility.

They say that by operating a retail business out of warehouse premises - which is not allowed under Singapore's planning regulations - Mustafa is deriving an unfair advantage over other retailers that have to pay for more costly retail space.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has now begun investigating whether there has been an unauthorised change of use.

A URA spokesman said: 'The subject premises at 8 Kallang Pudding Road is a six-storey building approved for warehouse use. We are currently investigating the subject premises and hence, it would not be appropriate for us to make any comments on the investigation at this point in time.

'If there is a breach in our planning controls, enforcement action will be taken against the persons responsible.'

BT understands that after URA officers went down to the premises to investigate, Mustafa put up signboards at the premises listing the building's activities. These include wholesale operations, a worldwide distribution showroom for overseas customers and payment system testing for EZlink, online and biometric card systems.

When BT visited the place earlier this week, a few shoppers were seen carrying groceries in shopping baskets and paying at checkout counters.

General merchandise such as pharmaceuticals, electronic goods and accessories are displayed in racks on the first level, while a supermarket with groceries, frozen foods and other items displayed amid spartan hypermarket-style fixtures and bare ceiling are on the second level.

When contacted, Mohamed Mustafa & Samsuddin Co managing director Mustaq Ahmad insisted: 'This is not a retail outlet although it may look like (it).'

Instead, the building's first two levels serve as a showroom and small order processing centre to cater to Mustafa's home delivery business.

Instead of having to open up a large carton in its warehouse coldroom to meet a small order, Mustafa reckons that it is more convenient to display smaller quantities of goods on shelves on the first two levels of the building.

'So we needed to have something like a shop within the warehouse itself,' said Mr Mustaq.

Mustafa developed the building on a 58,400 square foot freehold site it bought in 2000. At the time, the plan was to build a 120,000-sq-ft warehouse and showroom on the site. Under Master Plan 2008, the site is zoned Business 1, which means uses such as clean industry and warehouse are allowed.

Mr Mustaq said that the facility also helps staff process home-delivery orders and reduce crowd levels at the retailer's Little India stores at Mustafa Centre and Serangoon Plaza.

He added that shoppers at the Kallang Pudding facility will have to register first before they can buy. 'Entry in future will be restricted only by membership. At this time, anybody can become a member. But later . . . we may have to limit the number of people coming there if there's congestion.'

Mustafa needs these members to help create transactions to test some business systems it is developing such as its online business and a biometric card payment system.

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