Tags: Consumer Goods and Concerns, Groceries and Shopping Centers, Malls, Wholesale and Retail
By Lawrence Casiraya
MANILA, METRO MANILA — If there’s any indication the Philippines is not at all burdened by the global economic recession, consider the number of shopping malls constructed in the country every year.
It used to be that people from the provinces would look forward to visiting Metro Manila for a chance to step inside one of many shopping malls dotting the metropolis. Now it’s the exact opposite; mall operators are expanding in the provinces so fast people are surprised to see a mall sprouting in previously non-commercial areas.
The SM Group, the country’s largest mall operator owned by business tycoon Henry Sy, is opening at least five more SM malls this year — SM City Calamba, SM City Novaliches, SM City Tarlac, SM Supercenter in Antipolo City, and SM City Supercenter in San Pablo, Laguna.
By the end of next year, SM expects to have opened at least 41 malls nationwide. The latest to open was SM City in Rosario, Cavite — the company’s fourth shopping mall in the province (located immediate south of Metro Manila).
The SM chain has more than 10,000 domestic tenants and the biggest network of cinemas, numbering 201 with a total seating capacity of 125,382.
Rival developers are not too far behind and are likewise in expansion mode.
Robinson’s has announced plans to open five more shopping malls in key cities in the South, including Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Iloilo. Robinson’s Place Tacloban (in Leyte province) opened middle of last August, the 25th mall in the Gokongwei-owned retail chain.
Even smaller players are gearing towards expansion. Gaisano announced plans to open a new mall in Lapu-Lapu City along with Rustan’s and new player Siam Square. Gaisano is based in Cebu and its retail business is largely concentrated in the Visayas and Mindanao area.
Mall operators expand depending on location and size of the market, which could account for the fact that players like SM and Robinson’s open malls located a stone’s throw away from each other. Or in most cases, there would be multiple SMs, for example, in one province.
Aside from a burgeoning middle-class in the provinces, malls are also benefiting directly from the rise of new industries like call centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.
Call centers have located inside or within mall premises, which is favorable since these operate on nightshift (which thereby maximizing space) and offer a ready market of upwardly mobile professionals.
As the BPO sector expands further into provinces, the retail sector is also expected to follow suit anticipating an already captive market of consumers.
The Ayala Group, which operates malls primarily targeted at high-end consumer markets, is expanding into community-based “neighborhood” shopping centers — smaller in size but targeted at niche markets.
These niche retail hubs or neighborhood centers are intended to offer a convenient shopping and lifestyle experience to the immediate mixed-use communities in various growth centers. The first among Ayala’s nationwide chain of neighborhood shopping centers will rise in Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Nuvali and other potential growth centers in and around Luzon.
In the Philippines, wherever you live or go to work, chances are there is a shopping mall nearby. If there is none yet, it’s only a matter of time before any of the above-mentioned operators build one.
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