Robinsons bullish on mall expansion

Banking on unique tenant mix

MANILA, Philippines — Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) is ramping up the expansion of its retail footprint, with the country’s second largest mall operator looking to further reinforce its position with new shopping centers and mall redevelopment in the pipeline.

RLC has recently expanded its retail footprint in Mindanao with the opening of Robinsons Pagadian, its 56th shopping mall in the country.

“Last month we successfully opened Robinsons Pagadian, which adds 23,800 square meters of new gross leasable area (GLA) with an impressive 98 percent occupancy rate at opening,” RLC president and CEO Mybelle Aragon-GoBio said.

“Later this year, we’re also set to expand further with 28,000 square meters of additional leasable space through the expansion of our Bacolod mall. We are also undertaking the redevelopment of our mall in the city of Manila and completing a new mall in Caloocan,” she said.

Since its launch on April 3, 2025, RLC said that Robinsons Pagadian has quickly established itself as a vibrant new landmark, drawing crowds not just from the city proper, but from nearby towns across Zamboanga del Sur and surrounding provinces in Region IX.

RLC said Robinsons Pagadian, its eighth mall in the region, demonstrates the company’s belief in the vitality and economic promise of Mindanao.

“We also have our core malls in the provincial areas and then we are building up our premium portfolio of malls with Opus. Magnolia is also positioned as such and then NUSTAR in Cebu. We will build more of those where I supposed, the economic profile of the communities that we’re trying to serve would align with the offerings of a premium mall,” Aragon-GoBio said.

Under its Vision 5-25-50 roadmap that aims to deliver P25 billion in net income by its 50th anniversary in 2030, RLC targets to bring its mall network to 69 and increase mall GLA by 50 percent.

“So far, we’ve been expanding aggressively and we’re gaining market share also. Foot traffic in our malls is really big now,” RLC executive vice president and business unit general manager of the commercial centers division Faraday Go said.

To sustain strong foot traffic, Go said it is very important that the company put merchants in its malls that are unique.

“That’s very key because otherwise, it’s just the same stores in different malls so we inject brands that are unique and that are exclusive,” he said.

As an example, the newly opened Robinsons Pagadian offers a compelling retail mix that blends national brands, first-in-the-city tenants and homegrown favorites.

By attracting a strong retail lineup to Pagadian, RLC said it helps strengthen the city’s position as a thriving commercial hub.

Further, the mall creates new platforms for local MSMEs to thrive – offering supportive leasing terms and a trusted environment for growth.

“Malling is really a way of life for the Filipinos and that’s why it’s not so much of a risk to bet on it. And that’s why we want to go into other cities where we see that there’s an underserved or unserved demand for malls,” Aragon-GoBio said.