Monday, October 5, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
GENERAL SANTOS — Robinsons Place-GenSan has started operations here and expects most tenants to follow suit, after opening on Sept. 30 with many stores still closed.
Robinsons’ presence in this city brings to three the major department stores in operation at the "Tuna Capital of the Philippines."
The Gokongwei-owned property firm Robinsons Land Corp., which can still expand on its eight-hectare lot here, held a big bash yesterday to draw as much attention it could muster.
Roseann C. Villegas, spokeswoman for Robinsons Land, said: "Spaces are fully leased out, majority of which belong to local entrepreneurs. We hope the other tenants will do their best to fully operate their businesses [as soon as possible] since we are already open to the public."
Lance Y. Gokongwei, president of Robinsons Land parent JG Summit Holdings, Inc. and Robina Y. Gokongwei-Pe, senior vice-president and group general manager of the Robinsons Retail Group, were to lead the grand bash, bringing along show business celebrities, Ms. Villegas said.
The two other malls in General Santos are the Gaisano Mall and KCC Mall, who have expanded to keep pace with the competition.
Robinsons Place-GenSan sits on an eight-hectare property in Barangay Lagao, near the two older malls.
Henry Sy-led mall operator SM Prime Holdings, Inc. a few months ago reportedly inked a lease agreement for an eight-hectare property as part of its plans to enter the mall business here.
Among the establishments at Robinsons already in operation are boxing icon Emmanuel "Manny" D. Pacquiao’s Team Pacquiao Novelty Store, his wife Jinky’s franchised BlueGre Coffee Shop, the local Jollibee franchise of fishing tycoon Domingo Teng, and hotelier Romeo Bartolome’s Giacomino’s Pizza.
Anchor tenants Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, and the HandyMan opened yesterday. The Robinsons Cinemas will follow suit.
Silicon Valley, the National Book Store, women’s apparel store Maldita, and clothing retailer Bench are some of the other tenants of Robinsons Place-GenSan.
Other projects of Robinsons in southern Philippines include the Robinsons Cybergate shopping mall in Davao City and the Robinsons Department Store in Cagayan de Oro City.
Mayor Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. said the Robinsons mall would enjoy tax incentives since mall operations have been listed as one of the "investment priority areas" under the city’s new investment code. "The entry of Robinsons in the city will augur well for the local economy and this is also a manifestation of investors’ confidence in the local government and residents of the city," the mayor added.
In an earlier briefing paper, Robinsons Land said the two-storey mall has an estimated gross floor area of 32,700 square meters and gross leasable area of 24,100 square meters. It described the city as a "dynamic gateway for trade access" to major foreign markets like Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, the Pacific Islands, Middle East, continental Europe and the United States. — Romer S. Sarmiento
_____________________________________________________________________________________
