Wholesale-cum-retail mall opens downtown

A wholesale-cum-retail mall recently opened in downtown Colon area to provide affordable consumer products to the mainstream market.

Located at the former Plaza Fair building, 138 Ye Sen Fa Mall targets the low-end to middle end segment of the market as it provides affordable consumer products ranging from clothing and apparel, electronics and gadgets, houseware, and a lot more, said its director for marketing, events, ads and promotions RC Perez in an interview.

Perez said that products in the 138 Mall are imported goods from China and Taiwan because their tenants are direct importers of various consumer products in these countries.

Along with its grand launching, the mall, which was reconstructed two months ago, initially opened around 40 boutique shops that sell a wide range of retail and wholesale items.

 “We have the lowest prices here and so people need not go to Manila or travel abroad anymore to buy imported stuff because we have it all here at super low prices,” said Perez.

He said that they opened the mall in time for the holiday season because they expect a bulk of shoppers who will be looking for less expensive gifts for their loved ones.

Perez said that the concept of the mall is very much timely with the on-going financial crisis experienced by the country because they provide affordable products to their customers especially those who have a limited disposable income and shopping budget.

“As the first retail and wholesale mall in the city, we cater to people from all walks of life since our prices here are very competitive that even with a very minimal budget you can already buy good and imported items. We also want to attract micro entrepreneurs who wish to do wholesaling,” said Perez.

With several schools located within the area, 138 Ye Sen Fa Mall also hopes to capture the huge student market base around the area.

The mall has three levels including a basement area which will be occupied by Unitop, a wholesale and retail store which already have several branches in the provinces.

Aside from boutiques which sell diverse products, the mezzanine area of the mall will also be occupied by two major tenants Chowking and Jollibee which is still finalizing its date of opening.

While the third floor area will be occupied by the mall’s food and beverage tenants as the area will have a foodcourt and a stage for major events.

The third floor will be operated as an entertainment center because it will host big events of the mall such as fashion shows, promotional campaigns and other events, said Perez.

Currently, the mall are still looking for more tenants because they still have several available spaces for lease which are rated from P500 per square meters on the third floor and P750 per square meters for spaces on the second floor.

Perez said that the mall was developed and operated by Ye Sen Fa Inc, a corporation of Chinese businessmen who saw huge potential in Cebu’s retail industry.

He said that being located in the downtown Colon area, 138 Ye Sen Fa Mall is eyed as another hub for affordable shopping, dining and amusement in the city.

“We want this mall to be the Cebuano masses’ center for shopping where they can buy affordable items like in bazaars but with convenience and comfortability because it will provide all the amenities offered by major malls in town,” he said.

After opening around 40 shops this month, more tenants will be opening shops on the first quarter of next year.