AboitizLand breaks ground on first outlet mall venture

CEBU, Philippines - Hoping to ride on Cebu’s upswing retail industry growth, homegrown developer AboitizLand on Thursday broke ground for the first international Outlet store the Visayas and Mindanao area will yet have.

Company officials revealed that The Outlets at the Pueblo Verde inside Mactan Economic Zone 2 in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City will formally open to the public in November this year, just in time for the buying season.

Pueblo Verde is a commercial community developed by AboitizLand which is looking forward to boosting its name as Mactan’s prime commercial hub with its integration of The Outlets.

Rafael de Mesa, associate vice president for project development, said that The Outlets is a P60 million investment sitting on a 3,000-square meter property and is considered as AboitizLand’s first venture to the retail scene.

“As ground is broken for the physical infrastructure of The Outlets, we recognize that more than just continuing to build our name as a real estate industry trailblazer, we fulfill the more exacting role as an economic catalyst,” AboitizLand said in a statement to the press.

What makes this Outlet store unique, de Mesa said, is that it’s situated at the city center, unlike many other Outlet stores that are usually located at the city outskirts. He said this gives the store an advantage in terms of luring more customers, not only tourists but also the locals.

“Retail in Cebu is doing really well at the moment. Plus the brands are also thriving, so putting up an Outlet store is but a natural occurrence,” said AboitizLand business unit manager Clifford Academia.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, Mayor Paz Radaza said she’s happy that her city was chosen to host the first site outside Luzon for the store’s establishment.

Following the reputation that the city got as having one of the finest hotels and diving spots, The Outlets, she said, will now help the city become one of the top shopping destinations in the country, calling it “another tourism milestone.”

Global brands

The concept, according to de Mesa, was planned together with the merchants. Coming from the United States himself, where there’s a strong presence of about 30,000 Outlet stores, he said their vision was to come up with “a truly world-class shopping destination.”

The store is expected to host various global brands including Nike Factory Store, Bench, Adidas Depot, Levi’s, Dockers, Oakley and Reef, among others.

Bench will take up about 400 square meters of the gross leasable space, making it  the biggest shop inside.

Nike Factory Store, which will open its third branch in the Philippines at The Outlets, will take up about 300 square meters while Adidas will occupy also close to 300 square meters.

Nike Factory Store directors Jeremias Posadas and Chris Monteron are optimistic that their Cebu branch will also pick up just like their other two outlets in Laguna and Pampanga. Their Cebu store is said to be the second largest shop in the country area-wise.

Meanwhile, among the dining establishments that have vowed to make their presence at The Outlets are Cebu-based restaurants. Officials said this will be a good avenue for local players in the food business to let tourists and locals see what Filipino cuisine can offer to the world.  (FREEMAN)