Heart’s in the right place

Henry Sy Sr. was so much more than just the Father of Philippine Retailing.

The taipan, fondly called by Filipinos as Tatang, was very much a human who always had a vision of making Filipinos’ lives better. 

From the get-go, Tatang aimed to make Shoemart a big business. He opened the first SM department store in Quiapo after the declaration of Martial Law. The Philippines’ first supermall, SM City in North EDSA, opened in 1985. In 1989, SM Sta. Mesa (then SM Centerpoint) opened, followed by SM Megamall in 1991. SM Mall of Asia, the largest shopping mall in the Philippines and sixth in the world, opened in May 2006. 

The SM group has then evolved into one of the country’s largest conglomerates spanning retail, banking, hotels even home and property development. 

SM Prime is the largest mall developer in terms of both gross floor area and geographical reach. It is currently operating 87 malls in the country and eight more in China. While a large number of the malls are concentrated in Metro Manila, SM Prime continues to penetrate markets in provincial areas.

“As a matter of fact, I find the ones in the province more challenging, but I see more future,” Sy tells DAILY TRIBUNE. 

The latest SM mall opened was SM City JMall, the company’s fourth mall in Cebu and its 87th overall in the country. 

“Every time we reach the level of 90 percent the last 10 percent is the hardest. In the provincial it’s above 70 percent so there’s more growth potential,” Sy added. 

Vertical villages

Apart from mall development and management, SM Prime has residential offerings nationwide through SM Development Corporation.

SMDC, the property development arm of SM, provides access to luxurious urban living through vertical villages that are integrated with a commercial retail environment for a truly cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Its Cheerful Homes 2, a condominium complex in Mabalacat, Pampanga, was recognized as Best Housing Development (Luzon) at the 2024 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards. The 17-hectare, master-planned community promotes an active lifestyle while blending the best of urban and suburban living in one cohesive community for Filipinos. 

SM currently has 76 residential projects in the country, 47 of which are in NCR. One of its offerings, MyTown, is an urban co-living dorm with a network of 14 residential facilities strategically located near Taguig’s Bonifacio Global City and the Makati Central Business District.

Being one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, SM also manages office buildings, trade halls and hotels that has over 1,900 rooms. It is also operating convention facilities that aim to take advantage of the growing tourism and entertainment sectors.

Empowered communities

At the heart of the SM group is its corporate social responsibility arm, SM Foundation. The program is committed to serve and empower host communities through education, healthcare, shelter, disaster response, farmer’s training, environmental programs and care for persons with special needs. In 2016, the foundation built 1,000 houses for Yolanda survivors.

Tatang, while making his dreams a reality, also changed the country’s landscape with his property developments, and provided jobs while turning malling into a national recreation.