(14 November 2014. Pasay City, Philippines) SM Prime Holdings, Inc., one of the largest property developers in Southeast Asia opens its 50th mall, SM Center Angono in Rizal, an integral part of the Calabarzon region bounded by Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
The 41,481 sqm mall will bring the total floor plate of SM Prime to 6.4 million sqm of retail space, the largest footprint in the country in a span of less than three decades.
SM Angono, located in the “Arts Capital of the Philippines”, will feature the biggest supermarket in the municipality through Savemore. Its tenants include Ace Hardware, Watsons and BDO. It will also have 229 parking and motorcycle slots. It is the third mall in Rizal province after SM City Masinag and SM City Taytay.
SM Prime President Hans T. Sy said that “We are committed to continue our expansion towards the provincial areas which remains our strategic direction in the Philippines. In almost 30 years, SM Malls have become an important element in every community. We will also continue to expand and improve the look and feel of our existing malls to keep them current and exciting for our customers”.
“Not only do they boost asset values in surrounding areas but they have set the stage for further growth, increased productivity, promoted job and wealth creation, environmental sustainability, and positive social interaction. More importantly, they bring families and friends together. We are very pleased to open our 50th mall and we look forward to bringing more malls to Filipinos into the regions in the coming years,” Mr. Sy added.
SM Prime built its very first mall in 1983 on North EDSA, Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare. Back then, the lot that was purchased in 1978 was a vacant swamp remotely located from the center of the metropolis. SM founder Henry Sy, Sr. saw the area’s potential, standing at the crossroads of regional traffic coming from the northern provinces of Luzon.
In his travels, Mr. Sy was inspired by the first few malls built in the US which he wanted to bring to Filipinos to experience. Ironically, many thought the plan was ill-timed because the construction and the eventual opening of the North EDSA mall in 1985 with a gross floor area (GFA) at that time of 125,000 sqm happened at the height of a political crisis. Yet on opening day, many were surprised to see the crowds filling up the mall. Today, the mall draws a foot traffic of about 400,000 per day.
Among its 50 malls, three of them are included on the world’s 10 largest malls: SM Megamall, SM North Edsa and SM Mall of Asia with a combined GFA of 1.4 mn sqm.
In 2006, SM opened the Mall of Asia on a 60-hectare reclaimed property in Pasay City. Sy envisioned the mall to be more than just a shopping complex but a premier integrated business and leisure destination now known as the Mall of Asia Complex. Today, Mall of Asia has become a major attraction for both locals and tourists with its nearly 800 retail and food outlets and its scenic view of Manila Bay.
Over the years, SM has put up new malls in many parts of the country, building three to four malls per year regardless of the economic and financial state of the nation. This reflects SM Prime’s focus and commitment to progress and value creation for its shareholders and its drive to deliver stable growth through the years.