Around a decade ago, prime shopping mall stock in Metro Manila stood at 2.2 million sqm, higher than the current retail stock in Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta. The current prime shopping mall stock ten years later in Metro Manila has almost doubled to 4.2 million sqm. With this much retail supply in Metro Manila, one would normally think that there is no more room for growth in the local retail market. But lo and behold, mall developers have continued to add to the increasing retail supply in the metropolis. Over the past several years, there has always been something new in the Metro Manila retail market, and this trend will likely continue over the next few years. With the something new comes changing trends in the shopping mall landscape as well. Two trends in the retail market that stand out are the redevelopment and expansion of existing prime shopping malls, and the shift from stand-alone malls to malls as part of mixed-use developments.

Redevelopment and expansion

Over the past few years, there have been a number of mall redevelopments and expansions, examples of which include the redeveloped Glorietta 1 and 2 by Ayala Land Inc, which reopened in late 2012. More recently, the East Wing of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall opened earlier this year. Apart from sustaining and potentially increasing foot traffic, another possible reason developers refurbish or expand malls is to update the tenant mix in order to cater to the growing sophistication of consumers. Moreover, refurbishing the malls can attract international retailers to locate within them – take, for example, the redeveloped Glorietta 1 and 2 which have attracted new international fashion brands such as Stradivarius and Bershka. This trend is expected to continue over the next few years, as several prime malls are already being refurbished and expanded. Some of these malls include SM Megamall, The Podium Mall and Festival Mall.

From pure stand-alone malls to mixed-use developments

The newly opened SM Aura Premier in Taguig City, which started operations last May, is not the pure stand-alone shopping mall we have usually seen in the past. The L-shaped mall is a mixed-use development with a five-floor podium for retail and a tower reserved for office space. Similarly, the East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza Mall occupies the podium of a mixed-use development, which has two residential towers on top of the podium. Shopping malls as part of mixed-use developments are getting popular. Developers are also increasingly including a mid-sized community mall in their mixed-use complexes. With more mixed-use developments expected over the next few years, many of which are located within or near business sub-markets such as Bonifacio Global City, Ortigas CBD and in Quezon City, we can expect retail spaces to increase further in Metro Manila.

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