SM Supermalls, the retail leasing arm of SM Prime Holdings Inc., is set to open three new malls in the Philippines and redevelop at least 10 existing ones in 2025 as part of its ongoing expansion and upgrade strategy.
In an interview, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan stated that the new malls will be located in Laoag, La Union, and Zamboanga City, marking the company's second mall in the latter.
He noted that the second Zamboanga mall will be much larger than the first, explaining, "Last time, we just took over a small, SM Mindpro which we renovated and opened. But this new one, we built it from the ground. It's quite big. Of course, it’s not the Megamall and the Mall of Asia, but it's not a small mall."
Tan also revealed that SM Supermalls is undertaking renovations and redevelopments for numerous malls, including the Mall of Asia. The Mall of Asia project is nearing completion, with the launch of a "sky roof" or "sky park" featuring a FIFA-sized football field planned for early next year.
And then, we are starting already with Megamall which is being renovated, redeveloped and it would also have a garden on top," Tan added. SM Aura is also undergoing renovation and now boasts a new food hall.
"Clark, we will also start redeveloping. There are so many. It's more than 10 projects next year just on renovation and redevelopment. Some of them are for completion while some of them are just starting," Tan said.
SM Prime is increasing its capital expenditures to P100 billion to P110 billion next year to support the expansion of its core businesses.
"Actually, our forecast (capex) for this year is P100 billion but I don’t think we’ll get to P100 billion actually," said SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim in a discussion with media.
Lim explained the company's approach to maintaining its malls: "What we do is like, every five years we do a refresh and then, eight years we look into redevelopment."
"We continuously evolve because consumers now are very demanding—especially the millennials…It’s not just about shopping and eating anymore. It’s the experience when they go inside the mall. So, that’s why, we have to a lot of amenities and then, we also have bring in new concepts," Lim said.
He cited the SM Mall of Asia as an example, highlighting its game park with facilities for bowling, basketball, billiards, and table tennis.