Thursday, December 20, 2007
Mall to open in February
DEVELOPERS of a mall being constructed at the Mandaue City reclamation area are confident that when the first phase of their project opens in February next year, it will attract many people, especially Cebuanos.
The first phase of Parkmall@168 (Parkmall) will include al fresco shops and SaveMore, a supermarket brand under the SM Supervalue Group, said Parkmall business development director Christopher Tio.
Tio told reporters in a press conference yesterday that the entire mall will become fully operational in June next year.
“Cebu’s economy is moving toward a boom. We’re very bullish (because) the market is really moving,” he said.
SaveMore, the anchor locator, of Parkmall, will occupy nearly 50 percent of the ground floor of the mall’s main building.
Eva Du, operations manager of SM Supervalue Inc., said SaveMore at Parkmall will be the first outlet in Cebu that will carry the new concept of SaveMore chains.
Room for more
SaveMore has branches at Elizabeth Mall in Cebu City and Marina Mall in Lapu-Lapu City.
Despite the proximity of SaveMore at Parkmall to SM City Cebu, Du said the Supervalue Group believes that with further growth of Cebu’s market, there is room for more supermarkets.
“SM is not a threat because we believe that we have not yet tapped the full potential of the market in Cebu. We’re also banking on (the inclination of) Cebuanos to patronize Parkmall,” Du said.
Tio said Parkmall is designed to showcase the “best of Cebu” and provide the experience that is distinctly Cebuano.
Parkmall will feature a rotunda, ala Fuente Osmeña, amid a park setting where people can stroll, shop and dine al fresco, and enjoy the scenery.
“We, Cebuanos, grew up having Fuente Osmeña and Plaza Independencia. As Cebu has become modernized, things have become different. We want to bring back the same experience of our childhood,” Tio said.
Carlos Co, chairman of Golden Great Value Properties, a member of the Cebu Oversea Group and developer of Parkmall, said the mall involved an investment of P300 million to P400 million.
Lease
Parkmall was supposed to open this month, but Co said construction was stalled when the company agreed to provide temporary shelter to Mandaue City fire victims.
Parkmall will rise on a 30,000-square meter (three-hectare) property that was supposed to be the site of Uniwide. Golden Great Value Properties has a 25-year lease agreement with Mandaue City for the use of the property, Co said.
James Co, Parkmall managing director, said the company is helping other project developers in the area facilitate for new public utility jeepney routes.
Parkmall, which is located next to the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), is a few meters away from the new Cebu Doctors’ University campus and Boardwalk, another commercial complex that is still under construction.
Tio said future developments in the area will banish the notion that the reclamation area is a dangerous place to be, especially at night.
“There must be about 12 projects that will break ground (in the area). We’re also helping in the installation of street lamps,” he said.
With a lot of optimism in the market, Tio said Parkmall is setting aside space for further expansion. “That’s phase three, but we’re keeping it under wraps while we are still negotiating with several proponents,” he added.
Aside from the piazza and SaveMore, Parkmall will also feature a kids’ village, and a tourist and traveler center, which will be equipped with hotel check-in desks, airport and seaport shuttle service, lockers and showers. The mall will be able to accommodate about 700 cars in its parking lots.
Tio said Parkmall also wants to be a venue for retailers to develop unique concepts.
“We want to be an incubation venue for unique concepts,” he said, adding that Parkmall will even subsidize the rent for a certain period of qualified retailers. (LAP)
Bagging a trend
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Bagging a trend
By Mayette Q. Tabada
COMPANIES finally go green.
To the tune of paperless memos and corporate tree planting, a number of local businesses are doing their bit for the planet by giving away something other than the usual mug or desk dustcatcher.
What’s current in corporate keepsakes?
The 100-percent plastic-free “green bag.”
Actually a misnomer, the adjective refers less to the shade and more to the receptacle’s reusability and the underlying principle of waste management and civic responsibility. While SM Supermarket and Unilever launched last June a reusable shopper’s bag that’s actually colored green, Aboitiz Equity Ventures gave away last yearend’s goodies for clients and partners in a voluminous tomato tote more in keeping with the Yuletide season.
Although usually made of thick and durable canvas, some green bags use synthetic materials, like the SM-Unilever Green bag that uses up less energy in its
manufacture and can be reused up to two years, according to the SM Concerned and Responsible Eco-shoppers (SM Cares) campaign.
When Cebu Belmont Inc. inaugurated last Aug. 11 their latest high-rise, the Belmont Hardware Depot building, the company gave away free canvas totes to guests.
“We wanted to give a memorabilia that’s not just decorative, but also functional,” recalls Chester Lim, Belmont vice-president for administration.
A shopper who once complained that a local grocery store’s plastic bags were for sale, Chester underwent a green change after a January 2006 trip exposed him to Parisians bringing their own totes, with the elderly pulling along trolley bags, to hold their purchases.
“By adopting a green bag, we also reduce the demand for crude oil or petroleum as plastic products are derived from these,” he points out.
What’s best about this corporate trend is that the totes are just the tip of the iceberg. Not stopping with giveaways, these companies adopt measures to spread the advocacy among customers and within their corporate culture.
Under the SM Cares campaign, 28 SM malls conduct regular waste market fairs where shoppers can trade anything from used table napkins to empty ink cartridges. Aside from showing An Inconvenient Truth to its employees, Cebu Belmont Inc. is a major distributor of the biofuel BioActiv since 2003, as well as energy-saving devices for homes and industries.
During the media launch of Parkmall last June 15, katsa (canvas) totes were given away. Conceptualized by Parkmall developer, Golden Great Value Properties, and Marketworksasia, Inc., the totes were printed by Cheryl Baldicantos and Insoy Niñal.
The tandem has also produced bag giveaways for a Cebuano writing seminar and the June 29-July 1 Tsinelas Summit on Volunteerism and Child Rights Advocacy, sponsored by the Cebu City Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Cheryl, Insoy and Chester have plans to sell green bags, whose popularity makes them viable. After every tote in Belmont’s inauguration batch was eagerly snapped up, Chester sees a green future for bags that are compact, sturdy and, best of all, tender with the environment.
Turning green does pay off.
Bagging a trend
By Mayette Q. Tabada
COMPANIES finally go green.
To the tune of paperless memos and corporate tree planting, a number of local businesses are doing their bit for the planet by giving away something other than the usual mug or desk dustcatcher.
What’s current in corporate keepsakes?
The 100-percent plastic-free “green bag.”
Actually a misnomer, the adjective refers less to the shade and more to the receptacle’s reusability and the underlying principle of waste management and civic responsibility. While SM Supermarket and Unilever launched last June a reusable shopper’s bag that’s actually colored green, Aboitiz Equity Ventures gave away last yearend’s goodies for clients and partners in a voluminous tomato tote more in keeping with the Yuletide season.
Although usually made of thick and durable canvas, some green bags use synthetic materials, like the SM-Unilever Green bag that uses up less energy in its
manufacture and can be reused up to two years, according to the SM Concerned and Responsible Eco-shoppers (SM Cares) campaign.
When Cebu Belmont Inc. inaugurated last Aug. 11 their latest high-rise, the Belmont Hardware Depot building, the company gave away free canvas totes to guests.
“We wanted to give a memorabilia that’s not just decorative, but also functional,” recalls Chester Lim, Belmont vice-president for administration.
A shopper who once complained that a local grocery store’s plastic bags were for sale, Chester underwent a green change after a January 2006 trip exposed him to Parisians bringing their own totes, with the elderly pulling along trolley bags, to hold their purchases.
“By adopting a green bag, we also reduce the demand for crude oil or petroleum as plastic products are derived from these,” he points out.
What’s best about this corporate trend is that the totes are just the tip of the iceberg. Not stopping with giveaways, these companies adopt measures to spread the advocacy among customers and within their corporate culture.
Under the SM Cares campaign, 28 SM malls conduct regular waste market fairs where shoppers can trade anything from used table napkins to empty ink cartridges. Aside from showing An Inconvenient Truth to its employees, Cebu Belmont Inc. is a major distributor of the biofuel BioActiv since 2003, as well as energy-saving devices for homes and industries.
During the media launch of Parkmall last June 15, katsa (canvas) totes were given away. Conceptualized by Parkmall developer, Golden Great Value Properties, and Marketworksasia, Inc., the totes were printed by Cheryl Baldicantos and Insoy Niñal.
The tandem has also produced bag giveaways for a Cebuano writing seminar and the June 29-July 1 Tsinelas Summit on Volunteerism and Child Rights Advocacy, sponsored by the Cebu City Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Cheryl, Insoy and Chester have plans to sell green bags, whose popularity makes them viable. After every tote in Belmont’s inauguration batch was eagerly snapped up, Chester sees a green future for bags that are compact, sturdy and, best of all, tender with the environment.
Turning green does pay off.
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