Revolutionary retailing at 16th Ayala Malls Merchant Rewards

MANILA, Philippines - As the country’s shopping landscape poses for more rewarding and competitive times to come, the Ayala Malls recently held its 16th Merchant Rewards program, a two-day forum and awards ceremony that aims to uphold the breakthroughs and innovations of merchant partners.

“The Ayala Malls Merchant Rewards is our annual event where we recognize the achievements of our merchant partners,” explained Junie Jalandoni, Ayala Land senior vice president and Ayala Malls group head. “It is our way of expressing our gratitude to our merchant partners for their valuable support and commitment to excellence.”

With the theme, “Uncovering Opportunities in Today’s Retail Landscape,” the 16th Ayala Merchant Rewards Forum was headlined by Department of Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima as key resource speaker, addressing merchant attendees of Ayala Malls’ 11 participating shopping centers across the country about the importance of having a valuable and strong network of support for the Philippines’ bustling economy.

“We get the best foreign and local speakers from various fields to help our partner merchants improve their offerings or get some tips that they could apply to the way they run their businesses,” Ayala Land vice president and head of operations Rowena Tomeldan explained before rounding up this year’s illuminating roster of resource speakers.  Interior designer Maja Olivares-Co, Metropolitan Museum president Tina Colayco, and forward-thinking retailer Raul Francisco of Carbon, Eterno, Joanna Preysler and Tint lent their creative prowess in unleashing the potentials of engaging store design. And sharing their experiences in developing their own iconic local brands are Freeway’s Sheree Gotuaco, Gingersnaps’ Jerry Uy, Mercato Centrale Founders and Operators RJ Ledesma and Anton Diaz, and Mint’s Stella Sy.

At the Merchant Rewards Awards Night held at the Glorietta Activity Center Palm Drive, Ayala Malls bestowed special awards and distinctions to merchants who best exemplified the rewarding and revolutionizing experience in their stores. The trophies were designed by Ayala Corporation chairman emeritus Jaime Zobel de Ayala Sr.

Judged by cultural advocate Bea Zobel Jr., world-class Filipino fashion designer Francis Libiran, top model and fashion-mover Teresa Herrera-Anthony, acclaimed fashion photographer Sarah Black, highly-awarded cinematographer Monino Duque, and visual artist and musician Karen Santos, the Ayala Malls bestowed the best Overall Visual Merchandising Excellence Awards to Ayala Center Cebu’s ROX, Centrio Mall’s Oxygen, Marquee Mall’s ROX, TriNoma’s Benefit, Alabang Town Center’s All Flip Flops, Harbor Point’s Burp, Bonifacio High Street’s General, Market! Market!’s Team Manila, Greenbelt’s AC+632, and Glorietta’s Swatch. Renowned luxury department store Rustan’s in Ayala Cetner Cebu was awarded the Hall of Fame Christmas Décor Award.

With BPI’s VP for cards marketing Ezer Escolar, notable Filipino fashion show director Jackie Aquino, fashion designer Randy Ortiz, Angel Guerrero publisher and editor of Adobo magazine, and Peninsula Manila head of public relations Mariano Garchitorena fronting the marketing awards judges’ panel, the Overall Marketing Excellence Award went to National Book Store. Awarded the Store Operations Excellence distinctions are Oh Georg!, TGIFridays, and Etude for Ayala Center Cebu; Healthy Options, TGIFridays, and Lacoste Apparel for Abreeza Mall Davao; and J.Co Donuts, Nike, and Seafood Island for Centrio Mall Cagayan de Oro; Sweet Finale, Power Mac Center, and Toby’s for Harbor Point, Subic; TGIFridays, ROX, and Nike Stadium for Marquee Mall; Penguin, Lacoste, and Sebago for TriNoma; Penguin, Nike Stadium, and Lacoste for Alabang Town Center; Mango, Sariwon, and Gelatissimo for Bonifacio High Street; Jag, Starbucks, and Vans for Market! Market!; Tory Burch, Sala Bistro, and Cotton On for Greenbelt; and Rimowa, Cole Haan, and Wendy’s for Glorietta. The Special Award Promoting Philippine Art and Culture went to Swatch.

Awarded Most Promising Retailers of the Year are Barkadahan Grill for Centrio Mall, Arq Living for Harbor Point, Dessert Factory for Ayala Center Cebu, Hanoi for Abreeza Mall, Tollhouse for Marquee Mall, Hanamaruken for TriNoma, Sole Academy for Alabang Town Center, American Eagle for Bonifacio High Street, Krispy Kreme for Market! Market!, Draft for Greenbelt, and Mad Mark’s Creamery & Good Eats for Glorietta.

Bestowed with the honor of Store of the Year are J. Co Donuts of Centrio Mall, Bench for Harbor Point, TGIFriday’s of Ayala Center Cebu, TGIFriday’s of Abreeza Mall, Lacoste Outlet for Marquee Mall, Penguin of TriNoma, Kiehl’s of Alabang Town Center, Sperry of Bonifacio High Street, Mc Donald’s of Market! Market!, Tory Burch of Greenbelt, and Glorietta’s Rimowa. Going away with the distinction of Grand Store of the Year in the Awards Night was TGIFridays, who was also the night’s biggest winner with most awards bagged.

“At the end, what we want is the Filipino consumer to benefit from all of this. We commit to providing our shoppers with wonderful, loving experiences in our malls. That’s why, we say, ‘Lov’em all!,” declared Ayala Malls head of marketing Maricris Bernardino.