Sy family ready to splurge on mall expansion

MANILA, Philippines — The Sy family will not cut back on investments and expansion for its shopping center developments amid the online shopping boom in the country, with large-scale malls seen as the new norm for the group.

Hans Sy, chairman of the executive committee at SM Prime Holdings Inc., said the group would continue to increase its network of malls nationwide to reach more new markets in the provincial areas and putting up bigger shopping centers moving forward.

“I don’t think we have gone down in terms of our expansion. The reason we’re only opening about four malls every year is also because we’re also being very careful with our building capacity. We don’t want to be building eight or 10 and then not being able to deliver,” Sy said.

“And also, if you notice, all the malls we’ve been opening in the last three, four years are big in size. It’s almost like a regional size. It’s not any more the small ones. SM City is our big sizes, while SM Centers are much smaller, which are 30,000 to 50,000 square meters. 60,000 to 100,000 are the SM City’s already and we’ve been opening those sites,” he said.

As the country’s largest mall operator and developer, SM Prime currently has 86 malls in the country and is targeting to open three more new malls, including SM City J Mall in Cebu, SM City San Fernando La Union and SM City Laoag.

By the end of 2027, the mall developer is looking to put up a portfolio of 100 malls in the country in a bid to further solidify its dominance in the Philippine retail landscape.

“We still see a lot of opportunity in different provinces. What are the areas we still find potential? Areas like Mindoro, we don’t have Mindoro yet, Mindoro is not too far away. So still a lot in the future. That’s why we’re still very encouraged to continue expanding,” Sy said.

Aside from building new malls, SM Prime is also embarking on a redevelopment of some of its shopping centers.

The redevelopment will start with the iconic SM Megamall in Mandaluyong this month, wherein 20,000 square meters of leasable space will be added to provide shoppers with “brighter, wider hallways, more open spaces and higher ceilings.”

SM Prime chief finance officer John Nai Peng Ong told The STAR that Megamall would be redeveloped not only within the year but would extend up to the following year.

“We will not close Megamall. It will continue to operate but then we will redevelop on a phasing basis,” he said.

Aside from SM Megamall, Ong said other mature SM malls are also being lined up for redevelopment.

“We are looking at around another four to five matured malls. That means the likes of Fairview,” he said.