Ayala’s Greenbelt is truly world class

The Philippines, despite our myriad socio-economic, political and moral crises, has emerged as the undisputed shopping mall paradise of Southeast Asia. Is this phenomenon a positive sign of the republic’s resilient economic vitality or is this part of the great escape for Filipinos, who are weary of innumerable onslaughts of crises? Or is this phenomenon just a manifestation of our cultural habit of and passion for shopping? How can our leaders make the national economy benefit from this proliferation of shopping malls, whether in terms of potential tourist attractions, as engines for increased consumer spending or as the best distribution channels for Philippine-made industrial/agricultural products?

It seems that Filipinos – rich or poor or middle-class – have a national passion for shopping, spawning huge shopping malls which have become more unique and even world-class in some respects. Ignoring the fury of incessant political wars and the economic pressures, Filipino shoppers, cinema-goers and diners amazingly sustain the vigorous expansion of shopping malls, in the same way that telecom firms and cellular phone giants are reaping record sales. The air-conditioned and fiesta-atmosphere shopping mall, for better or for worse, has replaced the traditional Catholic Church or town plaza as the most popular social and entertainment center for families and the people.

Once grand moviehouses in city centers have in recent decades either closed down or became Protestant religious worship halls, with ultra-modern cinemas with sophisticated sound systems almost all moving to the shopping malls. Even the Catholic Church has allowed its religious Masses to be conducted inside shopping malls – perhaps recognizing the tremendous pull of these modern-day cathedrals of consumerism. Is it true that religious leader Mike Velarde of El Shaddai even once contemplated buying the troubled Uniwide shopping mall chain, perhaps having come to the conclusion that religion and shopping are equally among the biggest passions of the Filipino people?

Mall Matters

Rags-to-riches SM Group founder Henry Sy rose from the pre-war sari-sari store to shoe retailing in postwar Manila’s old Carriedo area to become Asia’s Shopping Mall King. Now he dreams of constructing the world’s biggest shopping center dubbed the Mall of Asia in the Manila Bay reclamation area, which is bound to become a unique tourist attraction and the ultimate symbol of Philippine consumerism. Henry Sy’s archrival, Cebuano self-made taipan John Gokongwei Jr. of Robinsons shopping mall chain, is unrelenting in his reinvestments and expansions nationwide. In the Visayas and southern Philippines, Gokongwei’s cousins (the enterprising Sy-Gaisanos) are resilient in serving their local communities, despite major inroads by the publicly listed giants SM and Robinsons.

The Tantoco clan of Rustan’s has also invested in new ventures, including high-end specialty stores. The world’s wealthiest Asian billionaire taipan Li Ka Shing once vowed never to again invest in the Philippines after his two winning public bids for contracts at the Subic Bay Freeport were sidelined during the Ramos years, but his group recently returned to do business in the Philippines via the Watson’s retail chain joint venture with the SM Group. The Ramoses of National Book Store and Power Books chains have also gone into department stores via Crossings.

The Velasco-Chua/Yang family of Plaza Fair, Fair Center and Fairmart have quietly continued the retail tradition of their 19th century forebear Don Mariano Velasco Chua Chengco, who was reputed to be the pioneer of the country’s first European-style department store then known as Bazaar Velasco in the Hispanic colonial-era Manila. Felisa Velasco-Chua Go, mother of the late Philippine STAR founder Betty Go Belmonte, is one of the descendants of this legendary retailer. In the martial law era of the 1970s, world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was honored with the inauguration of the Ali Mall in the Araneta clan’s Cubao commercial properties. Nowadays, the Araneta shopping district is set to undergo massive modernization, with new investments and possibly fancier malls.

Makati’s Greenbelt, Shanghai’s Xintiandi And La’s The Grove

With the advent of globalization, it is a matter of time before the Walmarts of the world would soon invade our archipelago with their world-class retailing operations. What is the national government and Philippine retailers doing to prepare local shopping centers and retail firms for direct competition with these global giants now already entrenched in China, Taiwan and other Asian societies? Who among the local retailers and shopping malls will survive global competition, and who will cave in or surrender?

For generations more well-known as sugarcane plantation owners and traditional landlords, the Zobel-Ayala clan of real estate, banking and telecommunications have in recent years steadily carved a name in the shopping center business. Can the shopping center operations of Ayala Land Inc. be an example of a local retailer that has geared itself for global competition?

Ayala Land Inc. recently brought two prestigious international honors to the Philippines with its Greenbelt open-air shopping center, winning the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Award for Excellence on Oct. 31 in San Francisco and a Merit Award in the International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) MAXI Awards for marketing excellence last Oct. 30 in Las Vegas, USA.

Unknown to the estimated 80,000 shoppers everyday who visit its over 250 dining, retail and entertainment establishments, Greenbelt is one of 10 winners of the ULI Award out of 150 nominations of various developments worldwide. Only three shopping malls were included among the 10 awardees – Greenbelt 3 in Makati City, the Xintiandi project in Shanghai City, China by a Taiwanese developer and The Grove of Los Angeles, USA.

Established in 1936, ULI today has more than 18,000 members and associates from 70 countries and representing the entire spectrum of the land use and development disciplines. The ULI Award for Excellence bestowed upon the Greenbelt project is a source of pride and inspiration for the Philippines, especially during these hard times of economic stagnation, bitter political conflicts and other crises plaguing our republic. The MAXI Awards is an international marketing competition that recognizes excellence in shopping center marketing. It has been given since 1972.

Apart from the 250 retail/dining/entertainment outlets, other features of the Greenbelt open-air shopping center include: five digital and two THX cinemas; the 50-seater MyCinema for private exclusive use; the Timezone family entertainment center, the Onstage live performance venue; the ArtFilm theater for independent non-commercial films; the Expo Exchange exhibition and trade hall; the Catholic chapel; an expanded three-hectare park, and the new four-storey Ayala Museum scheduled for opening early next year.

Francisco H. Licuanan III, president of Ayala Land Inc, says the two awards are among the most significant and rewarding achievements of their company. He shares, "I think these international awards can be of some help to the country’s image, showing that we can produce world-class developments. Most of the news about the Philippines overseas are negative, and we hope that these awards can be of help to generate something positive. In fact, a lot of Asian developers have come here to study our Greenbelt project, like two developers from Thailand and Japan who were recent visitors. Even though an open-air shopping center is unprecedented in humid Philippines, we determined that the open setting for Greenbelt was the best way to offer refuge from the city’s dense and chaotic environment, address a cultural fondness for socializing and dining, and celebrate the existing park."

Miriam O. Katigbak, senior vice-president of Ayala Land Inc., was very excited about the awards. She says, "In conceptualizing the unique Greenbelt project, we researched the local market very carefully. Planning started in 1997, and we had gone through three redesigning. A past redesign made Greenbelt into an inward-looking mall like Glorietta, but we reviewed our plans and we were not so happy. We came to the conclusion that Greenbelt has always been a park, which the public enjoys, so we eventually integrated the three-hectare park into the building design. Greenbelt is an outdoor park of the highest quality. It is not just a mall. It is a true lifestyle center. In other countries, a shopping center is usually just a place where you buy things, but it’s different here in the Philippines where it has become an entertainment place, too. That’s why we do our events management here at Greenbelt in a more intense and meticulous way. Sometimes, even the Appliance Madness Sale is considered a form of entertainment, too. Greenbelt is also unique due to the bridgeways we constructed, which connect this open-air mall to other parts of the Makati financial district. Ayala Land Inc. invested a total of P2 billion pesos in this Greenbelt project in two and a half years, and this includes our new Ayala Museum that is scheduled for opening in March next year. It will be three times bigger than the old Ayala Museum."

Winnie Nazareth, Ayala Land Assistant vice-president for marketing/retail, says the ULI Award for Excellence is not just a design award. "It is an award which recognizes the over-all success of a project and its contributions to the community. Some of the winners from different parts of the world won for their preservation of unique cultural and historical features, because they respected the local culture. In Greenbelt, we did well due to several reasons – its having been designed to enhance the Filipinos’ love for socializing and dining, the preservation of the Catholic chapel, the preservation of the park and expanding it further from two hectares to three."

Nazareth adds that the award also cited Greenbelt for being an open-air concept in a country where almost everything has to be air-conditioned. "We are glad to have helped put the Philippines on the world map with this world-class development of Greenbelt, because the other finalists in the ULI Awards for Excellence puro from First World countries."

Rowena Manhit-Tomeldan, Ayala Land assistant vice-president for commercial centers, says Greenbelt is truly a world-class place, even for gourmets. She shares, "I have friends who said they try a different restaurant every Saturday and Sunday, and up to now they have not yet finished trying all our specialty and gourmet restaurants. There are a lot of good things to look forward to from Ayala Land Inc. Next year, watch out for the opening of the Makati! Makati! project at C-5 in Fort Bonifacio. This is not your traditional mall, because we shall have a lot of themed bazaars, food and flower markets and other unique features. It will have a total of 150,000 square meters of gross leasable area. We also plan to bring here the best retailers and top wholesalers from Divisoria, Tutuban, Baclaran and other places. We shall also invite the flower retailers from Dangwa of Manila here. By 2005, leases in Greenbelt Plaza will also expire. This old building will be torn down to give way to new developments, such as expanding the park... Greenbelt is not only a gem of the Makati financial district and a source of pride for Ayala Land Inc., it is a world-class development which showcases Philippine excellence and innovation."

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