SM: 40 and beyond

I love going to the malls to do my daily walking exercise, combining window shopping, people watching and eating out.

Fortunately, I live right beside an SM Mall. My neighborhood SM Mall is convenient for my daily grocery and department store shopping — as well as for other boutique shopping, restaurants and movie theaters — and more importantly, I am able to conveniently do my payment chores for PLDT, Meralco, etc.

However, I still prefer to go to the bigger SM Malls, particularly the Mall of Asia Complex and Megamall because I am able to easily log in a walk of anywhere from three to four kilometers.

Walking around the SM MOA on several occasions, I have seen Hans Sy doing what his father, Henry Sy Sr. used to do — which is being physically present at their stores to show the people who work and visit that they are there to oversee and ensure that their services are up to par and that they care for their customers.

I have also seen Tessie Sy-Coson on one occasion at their SM Makati store and it really impressed me that they are continuing the tradition that their father started, which is being part of the communities where their families’ stores/malls are. In my younger days, I had seen Henry Sy Sr. visiting their SM department store in Quiapo, and later on in other SM stores, simply walking and inspecting with one lone body guard.

Their quiet presence is a reassurance that they truly care for the business.

I like walking in other malls too, but unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to see other mall owners inspect their properties. In fact, I am even dismayed that some malls are showing signs of neglect that their owners seem to have no knowledge of.

The first SM Mall was the SM City North Edsa, which opened on Nov. 8, 1985. It was the vision that Henry Sy, Sr. crystallized and, 40 years hence, is now a testament to a well-executed vision that his heirs are now looking and planning for far forward into the future.

It has set its sights in the south to build a new upscale community in Susana Heights.

Its most forward-looking project perhaps will be to build the first truly smart city of the future on new land along Manila Bay, the new Singapore of the Philippines.

Tatang, as Henry Sy Sr. was fondly called, had both a deep understanding of the Filipino consumer and an unwavering confidence in the country’s growth story.

From a humble shoe store in Carriedo St. in Quiapo in the late 1950s, he and his children have built what is now the Philippines’ largest conglomerate, valued at over P1.1 trillion in market capitalization, with strongholds in retail, banking and property, as well as growing interests in renewable energy and logistics.

Long before the term “inclusive growth” became a buzzword, Tatang believed SM could only thrive if the communities around it thrived too. Take SM City North Edsa. The 16-hectare site at the corner of Edsa and North Avenue was once swampland used as a kangkungan by nearby residents. Few saw potential except him, who realized it was the natural convergence point before leaving Metro Manila for Baguio or to the north.

When the mall opened in 1985, the communities surrounding the area grew with it. Property values soared from P2,500 per square meter in 1990 to P40,000 by 2000.

More than 6,000 jobs were generated by SM, its tenants and agencies. The mall also became a launchpad for now-familiar local brands like French Baker, Gandang Ricky Reyes, Papemelroti and Goldilocks to name a few — showing how SM’s growth could ignite entrepreneurship.

The success of SM City North Edsa, I believe, has led to the redevelopment of the once squatter-infested government land in that area and which now houses the commercial development of the Ayala Group and even that of Enrique Razon, who was confident enough to see that the community in that area can profitably support an entertainment, hotel and gambling complex.

High-rise residential towers continue to rise in the area, along with other hotel projects.

Work on the Japan government-funded subway has also started in that area, which in the near future will further fuel development.

Beyond commerce, the SM Group has worked to uplift lives. As part of its social investments, SM has granted over 16,000 scholarships across the group to date. In 2024, SM Foundation awarded more than 1,000 scholarships, marking the largest batch of recipients.

The SM Group has renovated 415 health centers, serving more than 1.3 million patients through medical missions and upgraded hospitals, such as East Avenue Medical Center, Quezon City General Hospital, the National Orthopedic Hospital and Children’s Medical Center, among others.

The Sy-family led conglomerate has built 2,850 schools and trained over 49,000 farmers to date, thus promoting access to quality education, well-being and helping attain food security.

In banking, BDO and Chinabank continue to expand access to financial services, particularly for MSMEs. In property, SM Prime has championed the “15-minute city” model, integrating work, home and leisure in hubs like the MOA complex.

The communities that have sprouted and grown beside the SM Malls networks have contributed to the SM Group’s financial success.

In 2024, SM Supermalls welcomed a record 5.2 million in average daily shoppers in December. The SM Group insured 1.23 million people through its banks, and engaged over 100,000 MSMEs in its value chain. Last year alone, SM invested P868 million in community development.

Henry Sy, Sr. built his business, but in many ways, the Filipino community helped build it too.