Ayala Center's expansion targets high-end shoppers

The soon-to-rise five-level mega-complex, with 6,000 square meter area for lease, will be the shopping haven for the upper class shoppers, as it will be accommodating an impressive array of premium shops.

About 50 more popular local and international brands will open their respective shops in Cebu in the first quarter of 2007, which is expected to fill in what is lacking in Cebu.

ACC's developer Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) has allocated around P1 billion investment for the entire mall's expansion and renovations.

"This five-level mall expansion is only the start of a series of developments to happen in Ayala Center in the next three-and-a-half years," CHI president and chief executive officer (CEO) Jose Rene D. Almendras said during yesterday's project ground breaking.

Rustan's Supermarket will be the anchor supermarket store in the mall's annex building. It will also open its second Fresh Supermarket in the area.

Ayala Center's Rustan's Fresh Supermarket would be a bigger supermarket compared to the newly opened outlet in Banawa. Rustan's Supermarket-Ayala will be situated in a 2,000 square-meter floor area.

According to Almendras, Cebu is now ready to accommodate premium or high-end signature brands, in fact, this kind of retail segment is what's lacking in Cebu as of this time.

"Cebu has become the primary destination in Visayas and Mindanao, and the international gateway. This is our way of filling up the gap," Almendras said.

The mega-complex will also create a special zone for technology products and services. This zone will bring in technology to a very convenient level, and the whole convergence of technology products and services will be offered in this zone, he said.

In over 10 years of operating its shopping mall in Cebu, this is the first time that CHI invested on a major expansion project for the mall.

According to Almendras, the existing four-story ACC and 300 available commercial spaces is "technically-full", which has made it difficult for the mall to accept interested tenants. Besides, he said Cebu needs more signature shops for the growing number of sophisticated consumer-base as well the tourists.

CHI ended the year 2005 with a sweeping 30 percent net income growth to P117.3 million from previous year's P90.6 million. ACC is one of the biggest revenue contributors of this publicly listed firm.

Beginning this year, Almendras said earlier that CHI will strengthen its retail rental portfolio by 17 percent or an additional 13, 500 square meters of space at ACC.

Almendras added that with CHI's position as the first real estate company in the Philippines to have gotten a triple certification for ISO, ACC's consumers will expect enhanced service standards.

"We must make sure that we do not cause inconvenience to the shoppers," Almendras adding that the mall has currently implemented new sets of standards to further pamper mall shoppers.

The construction of the new building will be done by Makati Development Corporation (MDC).