Young entrepreneur unveils a mall in Baguio

When we think of Baguio City, we no longer just think of the climate and the scenery. It’s still the perfect place for soulful self-maintenance and a respite from frantic city life, but it is taking on a new route as a hub of recreation, commerce and education, and we’re not just talking about horseback-riding or its famous markets or fine universities.

We’re talking about Abanao Square, the newly-opened mall centrally located in the busy district of Abanao and Zandueta Streets, close to Session Road.

Katty Qua, 31, is the young entrepreneur behind the mall. "There’s really not much to do in Baguio anymore, especially if you don’t play golf," she says. "The mall will give Baguio more choices, fresh choices. It’s a new reason for people to go to the area because it’s different."

Katty is not new to the retail industry, having put up Elite Garments which popularized ladies’ wear brands like Freeway and Ensembles. College was spent at the University of Southern California, taking up Business Administration, with emphasis on entrepreneurship. "I learned a lot in the States. I learned how to deal with students of different cultures, be independent, which was really far from our way of life here, be able to make decisions and be accountable for them, and to fend for ourselves. When I came back, I helped in the family business of animal feeds but I got bored. Then I started something with my friends called The Bead Shop and eventually I got involved with Elite Garments with my sister."

After handling boutiques, she decided to dream bigger and get into the mall industry. Now, after three years of hard work and various obstacles working against her, is the launch of Abanao Square early this month. Its grand opening is set for October. Abanao is a five-storey mall marked by homogenous tiles, glass enclosures, and brightly-lit interiors. It strives to look young, contemporary and alive. Regardless of aesthetics, Katty stresses that what makes the mall stand out is its choice pick of shops. "We really scrutinize their concept to make sure it’s bagay to the mall. We have to approve the perspective of the store, the interior design, so it meets a certain standard. We don’t want it to look like an ukay-ukay."

Tenants are a mix of Metro Manila mainstays such as Bench, Herbench, Freeway, Mendrez, Pink Soda, Nike, Chow King, Greenwich, Mercury Drug, BPI, National Book Store as well as services like shoe repair, film developing, optical shops, a salon, an infant shop, a cell phone and electronics center, an internet café, network gaming, computer equipment and the list goes on.

The mall used to be the site of the old Mount Peak Hotel. The idea of transforming this property was hatched three years ago when Pacific Land and Building Corporation tasked Katty to conceptualize and implement the project through her company Karats Property. There was talk of converting it into an appartel or a condominium or hotel. "But it’s very noisy because it’s in the middle of the streets. It’s all cars and pollution. And you put aircon in the rooms to shut out the noise, the price will no longer be competitive. We concluded that it would be a good place for a mini mall. The idea was to have a good tenant mix with everything in it, a one-stop venue."

Katty points out that a big reason why they also decided to put up a mall was that they really wanted to give something back to Baguio. "The stores that we’ll be bringing in will definitely be good for the place, like National Book Store. There are so many schools in Baguio, in fact one-third or tw-thirds of the city’s population is transient students who had to buy their supplies down in Dagupan or even farther, but now it’s available here. Although there are bookstores in Baguio, they’re not as complete as NBS."

Aside from education, the mall also makes for a fun alternative to the usual fare of boating, biking, and horseback-riding. "Some family members can go to the bookstore, others can walk around the mall to windowshop, especially if it’s raining."

Even the name of the mall is very much inspired by Baguio City. "It was a big debate, because we wanted to call it ’Strawberry Place’ because it sounds young, it’s catchy and it’s characteristic of Baguio." However, even before the mall opened, people would still call the area "Abanao." After all, Abanao is a well-known street in Baguio and so Abanao Square it was.

With the right name, right location and right combination of stores, Abanao Square should make for a dynamic melting pot of sorts for Baguio. It was not an easy task though. Being a first-timer in the mall business, Katty had to work doubly hard to win the confidence of the stores. The mall also sparked some controversy because it is seen as a threat to smaller retailers in city.

To this, Katty answers like a seasoned businesswoman: "The resistance was expected. That’s the nature of business." There also came the issue of the wagwagan which sells cheap, second-hand merchandise. The government is taking an active role in working against such practices as it is slowly killing the retail industry of Baguio." Some of our tenants are worried about that. A lot of the buildings are closed because of wagwagan. What we’re doing is not putting wagwagan, but rather, we want to promote Philippine retailers who are honest in what they’re doing.’’

With all these issues that came her way, there were many times that she almost gave up. But Katty knows how to take risks. She’s more objective than emotional, and she invests in good people. These are the main values she learned in her stint as a young entrepreneur. Calculated risks mean making studies and doing research before pursuing a good idea. Objectivity is also needed so that there will not be too much attachment to an idea that you can no longer see beyond it.

"For a while, it was discouraging and frustrating. We were thinking if it was worth it. Should we go on with it, was it a good decision? Then another problem was the delay of the project, inevitable hitches here and there. There were a lot of obstacles, but in the end, it’s finished already. We’re opening!"

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For inquiries about Abanao Square, call 400-3447 or 525-2752.