July 31, 2019 | 12:08 am [ bworldonline.com ]
MEGAWORLD Corp.’s Festive Walk Mall is located in Iloilo City.
By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter
MEGAWORLD Corp. is spending P10 billion to develop eight new malls in the provinces until 2022, as it looks to hit one million square meters (sq.m.) in retail spaces by then.
The property company of tycoon Andrew L. Tan said Tuesday it will open over 200,000 sq.m. of new retail inventory in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, Boracay, Cavite, and Pampanga.
“For the next three years, the Megaworld Lifestyle Malls brand will be seen in key growth areas around the country as we continue to tap opportunities for our retail partners to further expand and grow their brands with us,” Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Head Graham Coates said in a speech during the unveiling of the mall division’s new logo in Taguig yesterday.
This includes Maple Grove Mall, located in General Trias, Cavite. The mall takes its design from greenhouses and will be surrounded with gardens and trees, reflecting the theme of the Maple Grove township.
It will also open Northill Town Center — a hacienda-style commercial center — in Northill Gateway in Bacolod City.
“We veer away from standardizing our malls. We study and curate them based on what its location is all about. We want each mall to have its own charm and identity — something that makes each one ‘endemic’ to the city where it is located,” Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan said.
Mr. Tan said they will build two malls in Bacolod, one for each of their townships in the area. The company also has the option to build two malls in one township depending on its size.
The new malls in the pipeline will be added to Megaworld’s network of 17 lifestyle malls covering about 710,000 sq.m. in total retail space.
With this, Megaworld will end 2022 with 25 malls spanning about one million sq.m.
The company’s existing malls include Eastwood Mall in Quezon City, Uptown Mall, Venice Grand Canal, and Forbes Town in Taguig City, Newport Mall in Pasay City, and Lucky Chinatown in Binondo, Manila, Southwoods Mall in Biñan, Laguna, and Festive Walk Mall in Iloilo City.
Mr. Coates added that they are also expanding some of their existing malls in Metro Manila.
“Most of our existing malls have areas for expansion…we believe the template we have is doing very well, and we believe that it can be expanded,” Mr. Coates said.
Mr. Tan also noted that the goal is to build a mall in every township that they have. The company currently has 24 townships in the country, which is seen to reach 30 by 2020.
Megaworld booked a net income attributable to the parent of P3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2019, 16% higher year on year, following a 15% uptick in consolidated revenues to P14.9 billion.
Shares in Megaworld climbed 1.61% or 10 centavos to close at P6.30 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday.
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