FamilyMart halts sale of alcoholic beverages at all outlets

Convenience store chain FamilyMart Malaysia has stopped the sale of alcoholic beverages at all 360 stores to give Muslim customers the confidence to shop at its outlets without any doubts.

Managing director of QL Maxincome Sdn Bhd, Chia Lik Khai, said the decision to stop the sales of alcoholic drinks had been implemented since March to ensure that customers shop and dine without apprehension at their branches.

"Alcoholic beverages have only been a small contributor to our business so far. So we are expecting very minimum impact. And we are depending on our food and beverages to cover the sales (omission)," he said.

He was speaking to reporters after an announcement of FamilyMart Malaysia’s new concept store FamiCafé at Menara U, Shah Alam, which received the first halal certification from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), making it the first convenience store cafe in Malaysia to receive such recognition.

Chia said the halal-certified concept serves drinks and ready-to-eat food prepared in-house including "oden" (Japanese tomyam), hot snacks such as "crispy chiki katsu" and sausage (corndog), as well as "sofuto" (ice-cream).

He said so far there are 16 FamiCafés in Malaysia, with the target to open 50 FamiCafés by the end of this year with the aim of halal status for 300 FamiCafés by 2025.

In line with ongoing efforts to ensure customers shop and dine without hesitation, Chia said FamilyMart will undergo halal audits in stages according to Jakim’s guidelines, adding that the process had already started at two other stores located around the Klang Valley.

He said the FamilyMart Malaysia food preparation centre run by QL Kitchen had also been recognised as halal by Jakim since 2019 and as of April 30, 172 FamilyMart brand food products were registered as halal on Jakim’s official halal portal.

Chia said FamilyMart is currently identifying suitable locations to meet customer demand on the east coast and aims to open 20 branches in the region by the end of 2023 with several branches already opened in Kuantan, Pahang.