SaveMore Supermarket Opens at Parkmall

Supermarket opens

Sun.Star Cebu <> Monday, June 02, 2008

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

THE third and biggest SaveMore branch in Cebu opened last Friday, with the “park-and-shop” market segment as main target.

The supermarket, with its more than 200 workers coming from the local community, is located at the ground floor of Parkmall@168 (Parkmall) at the Mandaue City reclamation area.

SaveMore at Parkmall, a supermarket brand under the SM Supervalue Group, covers a total area of about 6,000 square meters. Of the total area, only 4,500 square meters are occupied by retail operations.

“This (supermarket) is for the park-and-shop customers. They park here, shop, and then go,” said SM Supermarket president Herbert Sy.

Sy explained that the three SM Supermarket brands—Makro, SM Supermarket and SaveMore—cater to different market segments.

“Makro is for the catering (businesses). The supermarket in SM (City Cebu) caters to people going to malls (regularly),” he said. SaveMore focuses on addressing the needs of households with budgetary restrictions, he added.

Sy said the company has “high hopes” for Cebu, which he describes as a “good market.” “We (feel) welcome (in) Cebu,” he added.

He said the company has plans to open a “few more” SaveMore branches in Cebu, although it is also looking at other provinces, such as Iloilo and Davao, among others.

SaveMore has branches at Elizabeth Mall in Cebu City and Marina Mall in Lapu-Lapu City.

Apart from providing the needs of customers, Sy said SaveMore also wants to help local food industries.

Cebu products

In SaveMore at Parkmall, for instance, most of the dried fish, bottled water with SM City label and other fresh products are from Cebu.

“Cebu also supplies dried fish to SaveMore branches in Manila. That (shows) how much connection we have with Cebu,” Sy said.

SaveMore is one of the tenants at Parkmall, which is expected to be fully operational by August. Three more stores and two banks will open soon at the new mall, which soft opened last week.

Travel agencies, restaurants and distributors of electronics products, cellular phones and computer equipment will also open shop at Parkmall.

James Co, chairman of Golden Great Value Properties, a member of the Cebu Oversea Group and developer of Parkmall, said the company is preparing the building’s second floor with the possibility that a business process outsourcing company would want to lease it.

“What we are trying to do is to give the tenant the building first before selling,” he said.

Co said the mall involved an investment of more than P500 million.

In a related development, Golden Great Value Properties will be writing to concerned government agencies in relation to its proposal to establish a terminal for V-hire, minibuses, taxis and public utility jeepneys at the back of the mall, not only to give customers access to the mall but also to decongest the traffic at the North Bus Terminal.

“Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna would also like to cooperate on that aspect. Naturally, when there is foot traffic, they are also bound to provide utilities that will enhance the security and transportation (in the area),” Co said.

Cortes told Sun.Star Cebu that he asked Co to sit down with the management of Makro, Cebu Doctors’ University, and other stakeholders in the reclamation area to discuss a possible transportation scheme.

“I will also invite them in the next meeting of the traffic management board (this week). The economic activity in the area is an indication that Mandaue City is a competitive and favored area for investments. That is something we should protect and sustain,” Cortes said.