Foo Khoo
KOTA KINABALU: Despite the imposition of the Movement Control Order 3.0 (MCO 3.0), families have not given up on Father’s Day celebration to show their appreciation to father figures in their life.
Sabah Confectionery and Bakery Association chairman Peter Khoo Po Min, who is a director of Multi-Bake Sdn Bhd, said all cakes at the bakery outlets in Kota Kinabalu and surrounding areas, including Penampang, Putatan and Menggatal, were sold out.
However, he said it was a different story for Multi-Bake outlets in shopping malls, which saw 50 to 60 per cent drop in revenue.
Multi-Bake has 25 outlets in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, Putatan, Menggatal, Sepanggar, Tawau and Lahad Datu.
Khoo said the sale of Father’s Day cakes had decreased slightly by five per cent compared to the year before.
“The sale of cakes for Father’s Day was unpredictable owing to the imposition of total lockdown amid the MCO 3.0.
“Customers in Penampang, Kota Kinabalu and Putatan have opted to purchase cakes near their homes as they are not allowed to cross district.”
Normally, he said the company would stock more cakes at Multi-Bake outlets in Kota Kinabalu, and fewer in the outskirts, such as Penampang, Putatan and Menggatal.
However, Khoo said Multi-Bake outlets in the outskirts have sold out of cakes by 2pm on Sunday because customers could not travel to another district or further away to buy cakes.
“We had not expected that at all. We immediately delivered more Father’s Day cakes to the outlets, which were also sold out by 3pm.”
He said the bakery could not product any more cakes after 3pm because the premises had to be closed by 7pm as per the standard operating procedures (SOP).
On the contrary, he said Multi-Bake outlets in shopping malls had seen a drop in Father’s Day cake sales by 50 to 60 per cent.
Of the 25 Multi-Bake outlets, seven are located in shopping malls, including Imago, Centre Point Sabah, Suria Sabah, Karamunsing Complex, 1Borneo Hypermall, One Place Mall and Wisma Merdeka.
He said there were only few shoppers and employees in shopping malls nowadays as majority of the retail outlets were closed, resulting in the fall in Father’s Day business.
“We have temporarily ceased operation for Wisma Merdeka outlet due to the drastic drop in business.”
Khoo also concurred that many homebakers were also selling cakes online since Father’s Day last year, which was evident in the demand at baking ingredients stores.
Meanwhile, Port View Euro Bakery managing director Kapitan Foo Hoe Weng also echoed the view of Khoo, saying that most consumers opted to buy Father’s Day cakes from bakeries near their homes due to the cross-district travel ban, as opposed to purchasing cakes from a specific bakery or seller.
He said the bakery had maintained the sale of Father’s Day cakes compared to the year before.
“The biggest difference for Father’s Day this year is perhaps not being able to celebrate the day at restaurants as dine-in is banned.
“Hence, consumers have opted to buy cakes and celebrate the special day at home this year.”