Slowly but surely, SM growing China presence

One Mall every 2 years

MANILA, Philippines — The SM Group is taking a slow and steady approach to the expansion of its mall network in China amid tighter competition.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. executive committee chairman Hans Sy said the plan is for the company to open one mall in China every two years.

He said this is slower compared to a more aggressive expansion the group is undertaking in the Philippines.

“I should admit, I’m stepping up the expansion here because here we have the advantage. Over there, it’s just so much competition. But we are still slowly growing,” Sy said.

“When you go to new malls right now in China, malls to them are not about shopping anymore. Malls are experience. It’s an experiential thing. They have evolved and it’s really different,” he said.

Despite the strong competition, SM’s malls in China are still doing very well at present, according to Sy .

“Right now China is standing on its own. We don’t send money to China anymore. They are the one making it grow,” he said.

“So organically it may grow one mall every two years. Just like here when we started. We started with one mall in 1985, then another mall in 1989, then another one in 1991, and so on. Now we’re opening four malls at a time,” Sy said.

SM Prime currently has eight malls in China and 86 shopping centers in the Philippines.

In China, the company has malls located in the cities of Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, Zibo, Chongqing, Tianjin, Suzhou and Yangzhou.

SM Prime earlier said that it is looking at opening new malls in Fujian province in the next few years.

In the Philippines, the company is targeting a portfolio of 100 malls by the end of 2027 as it looks to further solidify its dominance in the country’s retail landscape.

The company is also redeveloping some of its major shopping malls in the country.

“Shopping is always going to be there. We’re still very positive,” Sy said.