SHOPPING MADE MORE PERSONAL
Property giant earmarks P10 billion for eight malls, commercial centers covering around 200,000 square meters in retail spaces
Malls and brands closing shop abroad have been written about in the last few years. Thanks to the Internet, shopping can be done at the tip of one’s fingertips.
The Philippines, however, is proving to be an exception. While online shopping
has found its way to the Filipino shoppers’ consciousness, malling remains to be among their weekend bonding destination.
“People are going out to the mall, enjoying the facilities. In Europe, you have the pub. In the Philippines, it’s the mall. It’s the place where people meet and get together and socialize,” Graham Coates, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls head, said to a select group of reporters at the brand’s unveiling of a new logo.
He continued, “And you know the Filipinos are very tactile. They want to see it, feel it and touch it and have the whole mall experience. We’re not only the mall operator here. Everyone is expanding. So there must be something there. We haven’t reached the tipping point yet.”
Expanding to the provinces
In a competitive industry, Megaworld stands out for developing its brand of curated retail spaces and pet-friendly malls.
Most of its malls are smaller compared to other popular mall chains’ larger proportions.
Kevin Tan, chief strategy officer of Megaworld, explained.
“We veer away from standardizing our malls. We study and curate them based on what its location is all about. We want each mall to have its own charm and identity — something that makes each one ‘endemic’ to the city where it is located.”
Thus, each mall have captured a niche market.
Eastwood, the first and largest one in Libis, Quezon City, caters to the residents and business process outsourcing (BPO) agents living in its environs. It has also become synonymous to pet fairs, where annual pet conventions and shows are being held.
Venice Piazza in McKinley Hill, Taguig, as its name suggests, draws in tourists who want to have their photos taken while rowing along the river canal like they were really in Venice, Italy. It has also become a dining destination with a lot of popular dining establishments lined on the side of the canal.
Uptown Mall, in the business side of Taguig, is four floors below Uptown Corporate Center. It features a dancing fountain on one of its entrances and a chapel at the fourth floor. Like the other two malls mentioned, it also features many dining establishments and a food hall to cater to BPO and corporate guests. On weekends, families and groups of friends troop to it to hear Mass and then bond afterwards for some retail shopping and food trips.
The three are part of its 17 malls in operation, but Megaworld is adding up eight new malls and commercial centers across the country in the next three years.
These are targeted to open in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, Boracay, Cavite and Pampanga.
Maple Grove Mall in General Trias, Cavite, will be a greenhouse-inspired mall surrounded with gardens and trees — complementing the ‘green’ vibe of the Maple Grove township.
“It’s the most beautiful design. It’s going to break boundaries again. IT’s really beautiful. It’s like a conservatory approach (in line with the) sustainability and green measures of the company. It will feature a lot of glass, natural light, trees. You feel like you’re dining in the forest with an aircon,” Coates enthused.
Negros will see a “hacienda-style” town center in Northhill Town Center in Northhill Gateway in Bacolod City.
‘Constantly innovate’
While they are expecting more malls in the next three years earmarked at P10 billion, Coates is expected to constantly innovate and improve by Tan since he assumed the head post of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls in January.
“In this business, you have to constantly reinvent yourself. So every two to three years, we have to do renovations, bring in new tenants and keep up to date with everything,” he shared.
Its oldest mall, Eastwood Mall, is currently undergoing some renovations and new tenants are being brought in.
Upon assuming office, Coates shared that Tan, who has been hands-on with conceptualizing and designing the malls, had a “directive” for him.
“Number one is to improve because he is constantly… You know, Kevin is very young, very dynamic. I’m a bit older than him. His directive was to constantly innovate, constantly improve and really take care of the younger generation — the future shoppers — the Gen X and millennials. But not neglecting the families but really making sure that we are on the age of technology. Just generally making sure we’re at the forefront of innovation,” he shared.