SM City Caloocan officially opened on May 17, 2024, marking the first SM Prime Holdings Inc. supermall in North Caloocan, the third in the city, and 86th in the Philippines.
The event was led by Caloocan City Mayor Dale Gonzalo "Along" Malapitan, Vice Mayor Karina Teh, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan, SM Engineering Design and Development President Hans Sy Jr., SM Food Retail Executive Director Hendrik Sy, SM Supermalls VP for Operations Junias Eusebio, and Diocese of Novaliches Bishop Roberto Orendain Gaa.
Convenient shopping experience
With the opening of SM City Caloocan, Eusebio promises a complete shopping experience. "We're very excited with the opening as we can now serve the community, give them a complete and convenient shopping experience with the mall's sustainable features and its attractions," Eusebio said.
Spanning 94,000 square meters, 90 percent of the space is already leased to various stores, including The SM Store, SM Supermarket, Watsons, Miniso, Surplus, Ace Hardware, SM Appliance, Crocs, Uniqlo, and BDO. The mall also boasts the Cyberzone, wellness center, food court, cinema, and more.
A mall for all
SM Supermalls President Steven Tan expressed excitement for the opening, saying, “SM Supermalls is committed to new and exciting shopping experiences for the communities it serves. We are excited to open SM City Caloocan with our well-loved brand of service and convenience, sustainability features, and family fun experience that SM is loved for, such as giant installations and eco-friendly features such as e-vehicle charging stations and biker-friendly facilities.”
SM has been promoting a sustainable lifestyle for years. Its malls are eco-friendly, incorporating energy-efficient LED lights, water recycling systems, and free e-vehicle charging stations. At SM City Caloocan, the mall shares these same features as well as boasting a sizable car park, offering 1,190 parking slots for customer convenience.
Furthermore, SM employees, particularly security and maintenance personnel, have undergone training to assist persons with disabilities (PWDs). Like other SM Supermalls, SM City Caloocan is pet- friendly, equipped with facilities to aid PWDs, and features a breastfeeding area.
Catalyst for local economy
While the two other SM Supermalls in Caloocan are located in the southern area of the city SM Center Sangandaan and SM City Grand Central—North Caloocan is reported to have a dense population, double that of its southern counterpart. SM aims to provide an entertainment and lifestyle mall to cater to their needs.
SM also takes pride in helping the community by providing community service. "One of the benefits of opening an SM Mall is we want to be a catalyst of the local economy," Eusebio said.
An additional 2,000 employees were hired, 80 percent of whom are from Caloocan City.
SM has coordinated with the local government to help with the construction of roads nearby the mall. "Even the construction of SM City Caloocan, we fixed everything in coordination with the local government. We made sure this will succeed, and we will be aligned with the community we are serving."
SM is set to open three more malls this year, located in Mandaue in Cebu, as well as in Laoag and La Union, the first in the Ilocos Region. This will bring the total number of SM Supermalls in the country to 89.