Retailers fly in to preview Abreeza Mall
MANILA, Philippines - Last Feb. 19, over 200 retailers from Metro Manila and Cebu flew in to Davao to preview one of the flagship projects of Accendo Commercial Corp., Abreeza Mall Davao.
Various fashion, food and service merchants, including international brands that will open their first stores in Davao inside Abreeza Mall, were treated to a two-part event, beginning with a site visit to Abreeza, where construction is in full swing.
After the Abreeza site visit, retailers were taken to the Pearl Farm Marina for an update presentation, headlined by representatives from Ayala Land and the Anflo Group.
Antonino T. Aquino, president and CEO of Ayala Land, shared in his speech during the briefing that the 2.9-hectare Abreeza Mall is set to open in the second quarter of 2011. To date, over 60 percent of the 53,000-square-meter leasable space has already been leased out, thanks to Abreeza Mall’s supportive merchant partners.
After the briefing, guests were treated to a special luncheon featuring a sumptuous feast of Davao’s best seafood and other local fare. Cultural performances by Kalumon Ensemble also enlivened the fiesta atmosphere of the luncheon, as guests were entertained by a showcase of Mindanao’s rich indigenous music and dance.
Present at the Abreeza Mall preview was the Robinsons Retail Group led by its president and COO, Robina Gokongwei-Pe. Together with her was her team which included anchor merchants Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Department Store, True Value and Toys R’ Us.
Among the retailers who attended the event were Maritel Nievera and Ian Tiongson of Cabalen, William Tan of Jollibee, Eric Puno of Yellow Cab, Wilson Chu of Breadtalk, Robert Santos of Bistro Group, Bryan Lim of the Bench Group, Dino Sagun of the Penshoppe Group, Mike and Vic Jr. Munoz of Girbaud/Body Shop, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Lim of Giordano, Bal Dominguez of RSI (Bossini, Florsheim, Naturalizer), Joanna Duarte of Big and Small, Jimmy Lim of Astrovision and Raffy Prats of Time Zone. Quito Lopez of Starbucks, Steve Benitez of Bo’s Coffee and Julita Urbina of Café Laguna/Lemon Grass, whose coffee shops and restaurants are opening their branches in Davao were also there. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Teng of Maldita, Frido Ong of Lacoste Shoes, Brian Gerome Tang of Celine/CMG and Beth Co of Marcella were also in attendance as well as Cebu retailers like Camille Aldeguer of Island Souvenirs and Chris Aldeguer of Loalde.
Merchants who are opening their first Davao shops also graced the activity. These included Ivan Yao of Lucerne, George Mirani and Avinash Uttamchandani of the Promod/Timex Group and Sandra Antonio of SSI. Ginbee Go of BPI also brought her team to meet the merchants.
Also present during the event were senior executives from Ayala Land led by senior managing director of Ayala Corp. Mercedita S. Nolledo; Emilio J. Tumbocon, SVP and head of Vismin; Marivic E. Anonuevo, SVP and group head of Ayala Malls; Rowena M. Tomeldan, VP and COO of Ayala Malls; Cora Dizon, VP and head of Business Development of Ayala Malls; Francis Monera, president of Cebu Holdings; Steve Dy, AVP of Ayala Land Businesscapes; Javi Hernandez, AVP of Ayala Malls; and Clavel G. Tongco, GM of Abreeza Mall.
The Anflo Group was also there to welcome the merchants to Davao led by Don Antonio O. Floirendo Sr., chairman; Antonio R. Floirendo Jr., vice chairman; Ricardo R. Floirendo, SVP and director; and Vincent R. Floirendo, director. They were joined by Anflocor executives Alex Valoria and Oscar Grapa.
Strategically located at the northern fringe of Davao’s economic hub, the Abreeza Mall is part of a 10-hectare property envisioned to be a mixed-use development located in the North of Davao, the economic hub of the city, with a five-story BPO building soon to rise as well.
The Abreeza development is a project of the Accendo Commercial Corp., a joint-venture company owned by Ayala Land and the Anflo Group.
