SM opening 7 more big malls in 2024, eyes more China branches

SM, the country’s largest mall chain brand, is slated to open seven malls in the country up to 2024 and an aggressive positioning in China.

Steven Tan, president of SM Supermalls, told reporters at the 2023 Outstanding Filipino Retailers Awards Night that they are opening two more this year– the SM Sto. Tomas in Batangas and SM San Pedro Laguna.

The balance of five malls will be opened next year in the Ilocos region like Laoag and La Union. “The horizon looks very very promising because there is a market and still lots of untapped markets, the likes of Ilocos region and still lots, like Laoag and La Union,” he said. He also cited opportunities in Iloilo.

SM malls will also introduce new formats. For instance, Tan said, “We are trying to localize our operations,” he said.

In addition, he noted that the youth now refer La Union as LU. With that, the SM La Union’s architecture will be designed differently. SM will also adopt new innovations in tenancy.

For Mindanao, SM will be opening a bigger mall in Zamboanga on top of its small branch. They have already branches in Butuan, General Santos City and two malls in Davao.

“We’re not just expanding in Metro Manila and Luzon but we are everywhere, even in China,” he said.

In September this year, SM will open its mall in Yangzhou and is slated to open another mall in Fujian province next year. So far, SM has eight branches opened in China.

Tan also welcomed the influx of new retailer brands in the country which he said has been driven by the fact the Philippines is the “sweet spot” of Asia because of its population, which has a very young demographics with a very young median age.

“So, lot of brands are looking into the country, which is a good sign,” he said.

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The article was originally published in Manila Bulletin and written by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat