MUSINGS OF A CERTIFIED MALL RAT (Part 2)

The evolution (in terms of branding and marketing) of modern day malls has gone several notches higher since its early manifestation because of crippling competition by reigning top brass entrepreneurs: Sy, Ayala, Gokongwei and the Double Dragon partnership of Injap Sia and Tony Tan Caktiong (concentrated in the Visayas/Mindanao regions), to name a few.

TRIVIA: In 2014, SM North Edsa in Quezon City was known to have the largest (1.5MW) solar power system installed on a shopping mall in the world.

SM Prime Holdings, with its flagship SM Supermalls, lords it over the pack by a mile for decades now and it looks like it will stay that way for a very long while. Their SMDC sister company is concentrating primarily on constructing strategically located condominiums in the metro -- high risers sprouting like mushrooms in A1 areas for accessibility. With the doomed reality of nerve-wracking and unrelenting day-to-day traffic congestion everywhere, yuppies deem it wise to rent or own condo units near their places of work. Stress-free nga naman ito. Kaya nga nag-boom all of a sudden ang ganitong business...

TRIVIA: The five-level Ayala Malls Manila Bay (in Pasay City – the land of international airports and casinos) is the biggest Ayala Mall to date at 400,000 square meters. Among its most notable features: a 10-theater cinema on its upper floor, and a sprawling one-hectare central garden outside its grounds.

The Ayala Group of Companies -- which have diversified into building condos decades ago long before the think-tanks of Henry Sy mulled about it -- has found their rightful niché in that remunerative area.

They have also invested in environment and family-friendly state-of-the-art malls with well-manicured gardens and mini parks... toe-to-toe, eyeball-to-eyeball with their No. 1 adversary... that (slowly but surely) are gaining ground, placing a close second to Henry Sy's mammoth malls. Their Trinoma spread is fast catching up with neighboring SM North, snaring a sizeable consumer market share in the process. Ikaw na ang maging pedestrian stop ng MRT EDSA.

TRIVIA: Robinsons Land Corporation wanted to build a commercial development on an acquired lot along Aurora Boulevard in Quezon City. This piece of land was special – it was the former site of the original Magnolia Ice Cream House, which was torn down to make way for Robinsons Magnolia. This, of course, broke the hearts of many who used to frequent the iconic ice cream parlor.

Not far off the bend are the Gokongwei-owned Robinsons malls located in conspicuous locations: Ortigas Center, Pedro Gil, Aurora Blvd., Metro East, Novaliches, Otis, Malabon... to name some of its biggest branches.

 

Mall Groceries

SM Hypermarket has entrenched itself as the leader (in all aspects) among all competitors. Knowing that a sizeable amount of family resources is allotted for groceries, and to keep their loyal followers happy and satisfied, SM now has two prerequisite “they've-got-it-all” groceries in their selected city malls. Money-rakers ang groceries. We all know that...

They also have Save More, a smaller but very well-stocked grocery in every conceivable busy corner of the Metro. Of course, who is not to exclude the presence of Watson's which is now clearly visible outside of the malls, too. According to an insider, Henry "Tatang" Sy's vision is “SM every 5 minutes”. This means that, as you drive along major thoroughfares, you'll be seeing “an SM entity” -- be it a mall, condominium, convenience store, drugstore, bank, etc.

The Gokongweis have Easymart as their answer to SM's build-up that are also located in busy corners and side streets nationwide.

If I may add S&R and Landers, both catering to the affluent crowd with their higher end grocery goodies. Both of these outlets are fast catching up with the leaders in the industry.

 

A Word of Advice

These groceries need to have clear-cut policies re throwing unsold, cut-up veggies and fruits in the dump during closing time. A lot of Filipino families are starving. Instead of throwing excess foodstuff as waste, separate what can be redistributed for consumption and mobilize the local government units (i.e. barangays) to pick them up for distribution to those in need. Kesa itapon nang walang kapararakan. Sayang lang. The world is at the throes of a global food crisis. A viable program on this could help ease the problem.  

 

Convenience Stores

TRIVIA: Tote'm Store (an ice company and convenience store) started in 1927 in Dallas, Texas. Its name changed to 7-Eleven in 1946 to reflect their new store hours—7:00am to 11:00pm—in order to capitalize on the post-World War II economic boom.  It now has more than 55,000 stores worldwide.

As a side story, the convenience store biz pioneered by the 7/Eleven franchise based in Dallas, Texas is worth mentioning. They now have 2,300 (and still growing) plus stores nationwide. The Philippine franchise is exclusively owned by a group of Filipino businessmen.

The Ayalas and Tantocos (of the Rustan’s Group of Companies) have gone the convenience store route culture owning FamilyMart which was recently bought by maverick business mogul Dennis Uy.

Other notable companies are Mini Stop (owned and operated by the Gokongweis) and new player on the block Alfamart (owned by SM).

 

They've Got Everything Inside

Sprawling grocery outlets, modern theaters with Lazy Boy-inspired seats, gadgets hub (laptops, cellphone stores, telecom sales outlets, digital accessories, etc.), hardware stores (Ace, True Value, Handyman), dental and medical clinics (can you believe?), pet grooming, beauty salons, lounging areas for rest and wi-fi connectivity, food courts, sporting goods stores, bills payment centers, art galleries, jewelry stores, furniture shops, car dealership, music stores, salons and barber shops, wellness and health spas, banks ("we find ways" to get your hard-earned money), call centers, chapels (Trinoma's air conditioned glass-walled main chapel is a perfect sanctuary), ice skating rinks, bakeshops, ramen houses and buffet restos (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Mongolian), private and government offices, gyms (Fitness First in SM Aura has already introduced swimming pools as come on), bowling centers, satellite government services (LTO, SSS, DFA, PhilHealth, GSIS, Pag-IBIG, etc.), wheelchair and stroller rentals, koi ponds, penthouse gardens, children's play areas, e-bingo and gaming arcades -- not to forget (am I selling out?) the "multi-nationals" with their fastfood joints.

Jollibee, Chow King, Mang Inasal, Burger King, Yoshinoya, Red Ribbon, Greenwich, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (all owned exclusively by the Tan Caktiong consortium), Max's group (Pancake House, Teriyaki Boy, Dencio's, Le Couer de France, Yellow Cab, Krispy Kreme, Max's House [“the house that fried chicken built”]), McDonald's, Starbucks [my fam's go-to public work space], Shakey's, Pizza Hut, North Park, Tropical Hut (which started the burger culture in the country... nakaplato pa ang burger noon), Dunkin’ Donuts (now re-branded as Dunkin'), Tokyo Tokyo, Hap Chan, Savory, Taco Bell, KFC, Kenny Rogers, Bon Chon, etc. Did I forget your fave place? These food outlets keep the ever-burgeoning mall business afloat year in, year out. Food has remained the No. 1 go-to thing for the mall-loving Pinoys. Masarap tayong kumain... me included!

Current Situation

But the current COVID-19 pandemic has caused a big dent in their daily take. Plenty of mall shops/restos were forced to reduce their workforce or stop operation. Who wants to gamble and wait until everything comes back to normal which is unforeseeable in the future.

Grocery stores are the only outlets standing tall and proud for these malls who have streamlined their operations, maintaining a handful of employees as skeletal forces. People need to buy food essentials -- fresh meat, veggies, canned goods, fish, fruits -- the prices of which are skyrocketing lately.

We don't know when movies will make a return of the comeback to entertain us once again. Or will it ever be? We also don't know if everything will still be the same as before. These are crazy times indeed, truly unprecedented in the history of mankind...