FOR decades, the SM Group has consistently been one of the few major organizations driving the growth of the country’s leisure and retail development scene.
This year has seen the group notch one global recognition after another—proof of the company’s continued success in fulfilling its mission to achieve business excellence. The group’s recipe for success is simple: redefining the Filipino’s leisure experience by designing spaces that exude affordable luxury.
Just in October, SM Megamall garnered yet another milestone when it was awarded the “Best Retail Architectural Design” for the most recent addition to its already thriving blueprint, the Mega Fashion Hall, by the Southeast Asia Property Awards—the biggest, most prestigious and most recognized industry awards in Southeast Asia. The new wing features a dynamic retail mix, food hall, main hall for events, and an entertainment center that features an Olympic-sized ice skating rink, 14 lane bowling alley, and Imax and Director’s Club theaters. Also, the Mega Fashion Hall’s semicircular format represents a visual and physical break from the original rectilinear mall.
Also sharing the limelight during the same awarding ceremony were SM Prime Holdings, which was among the highly commended organizations in the region in the Best Developer in Southeast Asia category, and SMDC Shell Residences, also one of the most distinguished outfits in the Best Landscape Architectural Design category.
Securing a legacy of prominence and excellence
SM Megamall also added another feather into its hat when it was cited as a Silver winner in the renovations and expansions design and development category in the recent 2015 Asia Pacific Shopping Center Award. Held in Taipei, Taiwan, also in October, the prestigious event is organized by the Internal Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and recognizes the region’s most innovative shopping centers for outstanding achievement in marketing, design and development, and retail.
Sharing in SM Megamall’s accolade were SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) (developer); Arquitectonica (design architect); and W.V.Coscolluela & Associates (production/executive architects).
The winning does not end there for SM, as the company added a few other notable recognitions, this time for expanding its reach in China.
SMPHI was bestowed a prestigious gold award for SM City Xiamen, Fujian Province, its first mall in China.
SM City Xiamen/SM Lifestyle Center won the Mall China Golden Mall Awards 2015 Commercial Asset Management Company Gold Award. Only eight companies were given the prestigious gold award during the 13th Annual Conference of Mall China International Symposium hosted by China Shopping Center Development Association (Mall China), an annual gathering of major shopping malls and retailers in China.
“Without your continued support, SM will not thrive in China, among the world’s largest retail markets,” SMPHI’s mall group, SM Supermalls, SVP Steven Tan said during his thank you speech at the awarding ceremonies held in Shenzhen, China, recently. “We maintain to drive retail service as our main backbone, with an aim to create an environment people can call their second home.”
Tan also became the recipient of the 2015 International Professional Leader Award for his insight into retail, commercial real estate, and shopping center industry in China, as well as in promoting and giving significance guidance on development strategy.
Mall China highly recognized SMPHI’s insight and expertise into retail, commercial real estate, and shopping center development in China. This distinction marks the sixth time since 2011 that SM Prime has been recognized by Mall China.
Continuing its momentum
Since entering the Chinese market, the SM Group through SMPHI has set up shopping centers in Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, Suzhou and Chongqing. Another mall, SM City Zibo, which spans 150,600 square meters, is set to open in 2015. These malls have demonstrated the goal and impact of the SM Group’s strategy to build “new centers of urban life” and have improved local business facilities and quality of life.
SM opened its first mall in China, SM City Xiamen in 2001 with a gross floor area (GFA) of 128,203 sq m. Come 2009, the upscale SM Lifestyle Center in Xiamen was opened with a GFA of 109,922 sq m. A couple of years later, in 2013, the SM Skywalk was launched, linking SM Xiamen and SM Lifestyle Center, providing more convenience to customers.
In the last two years, SM Xiamen and SM Lifestyle Center offered wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) services, increased parking lots, added facilities for persons with special needs and a nursery room for mothers, installed LED facilities and installed an intelligent parking system all aimed at a better customer experience. Aside from these, SM also upgraded the brands inside the mall.
By the end of the year, SM is looking to firm up its presence further by having 56 malls in the Philippines and six others in China—a commendable portfolio of retail, dining and integrated entertainment boasting an estimated total area of 8.3 million sq m.
