Officially, we can now claim that 3 out of the 10 largest shopping malls in the world are located in the Island Paradise of the Philippines!! Woohoo! This is according to Forbes.com article World’s Largest Malls based on leasable retail space. Remember this statistic– our malls in the Philippines is bigger than any mall in the United States. No wonder, Filipino’s national pastime is Malling. Maybe, this is one of the evidences that Philippines is now a Second World country according to President Arroyo.
Forbes.com World’s 10 Largest Shopping Malls
1. South China Mall, Dongguan, China (2005, 7.1 million square feet)
2. Golden Resources Shopping Mall, Beijing, China (2004, 6 million square feet)
3. SM Mall of Asia!
4. West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (1981, 3.8 million square feet)
5. SM Mega Mall!
6. Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ( 2005, 3.4 million square feet )
7. Beijing Mall, Beijing, China (2005, 3.4 million square feet)
8. Zhengjia Plaza, Guangzhou China (2005, 3 million square feet)
9. SM North Edsa!
10. King of Prussia Mall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (1962, 2.8 million square feet)
I didnt know that the MOA has an olympic size pool.COuld the writer be referring to that huge hockey rink?
wow!! woohooo talaga 🙂 gusto na nga ata maniwala na second world country na tayo :)… sa wakas hehe
I’m surprised that the Mall of America isn’t on the list, and SM North Edsa still is! Kahit baduy the original SM City is my favorite mall, it’s been there for as long as I can remember and I’ve spent many a happy weekend afternoon there. I suppose the additional building The Block added to its size allowing it to keep its place on the Top 10 list.
What pool?
That’s 3 out of 10! Yehaaaaa!!
Hahaha funny mistake on the pool! yeah wait till the skating rink melts!
As much as I’d like to be happy about the improvements in our country’s economy, I echo the concerns raised in the Inside PCIJ blog. Income distribution is so bad that 53.4% of the nation’s wealth belongs to the Richest 20% of the population (NSO website for 2003 FIES prelim results). There must be something sustainable that we can do to fix this.. 🙂
I think the MOA still has potential to become the biggest mall in the world! They can build more buildings and interconnect. The space available is quite huge. They can even extend out into the ocean and build a floating mall.
By the way, I also read that SM is planning to build a ferry station in MOA so you can travel to Batangas within 45 mins! That probably connects to the SM Batangas mall.
This is very positive news especially to the world who always just reads negative articles about our country. Sorry nalang sila, they’re unsucccessful in putting the Philippines down sa mga paninira ng mga writers. We no longer need a PR agency to promote our country unlike the other countries na puro maganda ang nababasa tungkol sa bansa nila, pagdating mo naman doon ay hindi naman pala maganda at malinis – puro PR work lang pala sa pahayagan at TV.
Talaga? King of Prussia Mall is bigger than Mall of the Americas? That makes me feel better, having never been to the Mall of the Americas. The King of Prussia Mall saved my sanity while in college – and prepared me well, so it seems, for my future career in fashion merchandising. =)
Um, about that GMA comment that we’re now a “second world country”: What I remember from my high school classes is that the second world refers to the socialist states. I think she meant first world – the developed, non-socialist states.
I read somewhere that SM North Edsa is now the 2nd largest mall in the Philippines upon the construction of it’s newest addition, The Block. SM Megamall is now 3rd largest in the country.
Huwaw!!!
Wait. But if you add up the floor-space of Ayala Center Makati, don’t you get something close to or larger than SM City? Rustans-SM-Glorietta-Park-Square-Landmark is technically one giant mall anyway, right? If not, then maybe you should add Greenbelt, since it is technically connected to the mall via a bridge.
if you’ve been to other countries.. kahit malaysia lang… ang layo pa ng pilipinas! there are a lot of things great about this country.. but theres even more to improve on. let us not forget that we are ranked #1 as the most corrupt country in asia! (or is it south east asia? i forget.) 2nd world? dream on mrs arroyo… masking our national problems with grand statements like that wont do us any good!
but on to the topic… hehe… the mall of asia might be huuuuuge but i always find so little to do there.. i spend no more than 2 hours there unless i go see a movie. if it maximized the space it has for smaller but more stores… it would seem a lot bigger than how it is presented now. the large spaces make it look a tad empty.
Malaysia’s Berjaya Times Square 6th largest in the Forbes list is yes, huge but hardly has any tenants considering it opened in 2005. Shoppers are scarce too over at that mall. All i can say is that it’s almost empty.
As a Filipino, I’m proud the Philippines made it to the list and three at that.
Wala Mall of America. I find it as big as MegaMall =)
Mall of America has a retail/leasable area of 2.5 million sq ft.
That would mean that from 1991 to 2004, SM Megamall and SM North EDSA were the 2nd and 3rd biggest malls in the world respectively.
All I can say is, batang SM ako. Haha! I remember, we used to go SM North Edsa *used to call is shoemart* to buy school supplies and new shoes every May. Even back then it was always packed.
Not exactly a fan of malls. And I loathe how SM Baguio ruined the character of the ENTIRE city by being the most prominent feature from any point.
This is not exactly a good thing.
It’s like having the biggest Walmart in the world. Homogenized culture, synthetic surroundings, and disassociation with the context of it’s location. Only Greenbelt and Serendra looks out onto the surrounding areas. Most Manila malls look within (atrium of Shang Mall as an example). Frankly, SM MOA doesn’t maximize it’s gorgeous location at all. Too boxy. It’s colors and weight too jarring against the natural Philippine palette.
And remember, only ONE family is making all this money and completely at the expense of Manila’s traditional public spaces.
Trust me, this isn’t a good thing.
More malls. More dead downtown districts.
Kahit anong laki pa ng mall na itayo sa Pilipinas if the government doesn’t do anything about the economy –POVERTY –ang daming squatters then Phils. will always be a 3rd world country. That’s a fact – whether we like it or not!!!
Carlos, not to mention SM City Manila (got rid of Parsons’ designed YMCA) and SM City San Lazaro (got rid of art deco San Lazaro Hippodrome).
Having Malls is not the issue per se… It is how they build the mall and considered the impact to the environment/ heritage sites.
I Would agree on the SM Baguio case, I’m not sure if we can generalize the issue across all the SM malls or Malls in general.
Since when did having big malls a sign of progress? How retarded.
I visited the Philippines last month and did some “malling” during my stay (visited EVERY major mall, old and new) and came away impressed but also jaded to some degree. The newer, bigger malls like Mall of Asia had much a colder and sterile environment (it just might because it was literally too cold inside) compared to the relatively older malls like Galleria. Yes, they were impressive in their size and modernity, but really lacked any ambiance or identity. One you have visited one, you’ve essentially visited them all, but I did enjoy Greenbelt and Market-Market for their outdoor spaces. I would also be interested in knowing how much revenue these places bring in compared to the other “big” malls in the world and how much goes back to “Filipinos” because there were alot of sales people just standing around.
I agree with LAREES, what they did with SM Baguio is criminal because the spot it occupies could have been used for many other purposeful uses.
Seeing the popularity of Baywalk, I think that Manila deserves more outdoor communal spaces and outdoor eating areas, rather than the typical crowded food courts that attract the business in the behemoth SMs.
BTW- I have really enjoyed reading the blog and look forward to my next visit back so that I could visit some of the restaurants and places that have been discussed (even those in the Mall of Asia ;)). I am also in the process of planning a new “business” in the Philippines and your general commentary has been helpful.
While it is true that “malls” are not an accurate indication of real progress, still, you have to admit, at least some people are confident and bullish enough to invest heavily on the Philippines – rather than in heavily in other places. In any case, having 3 Philippine malls making it into the top 10 biggest malls in the world sounds positive news to me any day. Good news is always welcome news. Let’s not put a damper on it. =)
soon, baka ma-include na rin ung ‘trinoma’ (triangle north mall) across sm north edsa owned by Ayala. it looks bigger than sm city and about to open in 2008
yeah… trinoma looks really larger than sm north. it’s gonna open in may of this year daw.
A bit glad about this, but not entirely. I hope our claim of fame would be something else, and not a mall.
I think most of the younger generation only knows malling to pass time, for lack of other alternatives (and imagination?)… I remember when I visited Geneva a few yrs back during their summer holiday, the kids were sitting around Lake Geneva drawing or painting the scenery, or reading a book, or biking around, or picnicking with friends/family. I thought that was relaly cool.
I just read that after the rehab/facelift of SM North Edsa it will be bigger pa that megamall. Parang may condotel pa na itatayo where the Annex used to be. This is also my favorite mall because its so near my house both when I was single and now that I’m married. As in nilalakad lang namin yan dati. I take my kids to The Block because the spaces are huge and its easy to walk there. I don’t know if my opinion will still hold when Trinoma (Ayala North Project) will open next week (May 3). Yahooo! My goal is to be there on the first day and be one of the first to enter. I’m going right after my kids’ swimming lessons.
i don’t wanna go to SM North because the way was confusing. by the way, hi to zaila, yollibee, marc, kuya jan, rei, bert, jeff, mina and all my workmates at TP. hehehehe…
if big malls are almost empty means sales income is low. best way to counter that is to put unique-one of a kind types ‘public benches’ ‘tall romantic public indoor lamp posts’ ‘mellow sounding musical waterfals’ ‘tall huge potted curious looking trees surounded by colorful bed of flowers{center hallways only}’mini dance schools’any form of ‘professional carrer job schools’ as venues for all decent public meetings’ ‘weekly dance-singing discovery talent’competitions among kindergatens elementaries high schools-special schools and all types na mga baranggay invitational programs around the cities-towns with gift certificates as prizes….c
all big malls should built ‘smaller’branches in all philippine provinces no matter how small, backwards or poor the areas. a lot of poor families stays or live as informal settlers bec. of familiarty. getting used to going and experimenting higher living of standards thru personnal visualizations-to confirm some ignorances-to make their fantasies and dreams come true means big businesses are missing the best part of ‘business experimentations’ and new expansions….c
all big malls should built ‘smaller’branches in all philippine provinces no matter how small, backwards or poor the areas. a lot of poor families stays or live as informal settlers bec. of familiarty. getting used to going and experimenting higher living of standards thru personnal visualizations-to confirm some ignorances-to make their fantasies and dreams come true means big businesses are missing the best part of ‘business experimentations’ and new expansions….c
poor filipinos does not necessarily mean they are really poor. majority of them has side incomes,a member families or businesses sidelines,has family members working-earning u.s. dollars but do not know how to live a higher standards or hiding their true incomes from thieves…..building smaller branches of big malls sa lahat ng probinsya na kahit mahirap is also one way of teaching poor filipino sidewalk vendors to form-join groups of their kinds and move higher….meaning as cooperatives be a ‘ mall space owners ‘ and all of them must close those low street businesses and backwards street experiences meaning be NOW an entrepreneurs…c.
baywalks is another story meaning if philippines can afford to build all their shorelines-baysides open spaces even all both sides of rivers as scenic-look outs- tourists walkways and garden parks attractions for all citizens of the world to enjoy…that must be ‘world’s biggest accomplishments’……tall shady fruit bearing trees along the roads and all sides of bodies of waters is what THE PHILIPPINES AND ALL THE FILIPINO PEOPLE NEEDS TO HAVE SO WORLD’S FUTURE IS ‘BRIGHT’……under their sharing-caring desires and inspirarations worldwide….c.
I’m making an argumentative paper on malls being primary contributors to poverty and reading all your comments really helped. heheh Now all I need is to sit for hours in front of my comp and find sources to prove you arguments. Ok you guys didn’t really need to know but thanks hahah And moree comments would actually helpp
I’m making an argumentative paper on malls being primary contributors to poverty and reading all your comments really helped. heheh Now all I need is to sit for hours in front of my comp and find sources to prove you arguments. Ok you guys didn’t really need to know but thanks hahah And moree comments would actually helpp
to student: poverty has many sides. one way is how it came about and the other how to get out of it. answers has also many sides. one way is to look at poverty as a result of COMPLACENCY-ignorances-apathy-lazyness-non inheritance- etc. or HOW TO GET OUT of it? is to learned-be pragmatic- explore all abilities & be a risk takers by asking yourselves DO I WANNA BE RICH RICH OR WANNA BE POOR POOR?meaning poverty lies in each individual’s hands other angles are just part of the luck you have chosen….malls help small-medium-big businesses in it’s decent permanent exposures-healthy-secured-safe-interesting-thought provoking experiences-architectural designs-new building concepts-mapped out resources-proper restrooms available-an EXERCISE INDOOR FIElDS-international or foreign feelings place to visits where entire families-children-loved ones feel wanted and connected as malls is like your second home if not on a 5 star hotel vacations… it also disciplines owners to be a responsible taxpayers-business owners or you don’t belong here.
if malls do not exist then world is exposed to open-flea vendors or markets a practice done for thousands of years that exposed customers-buyers-sellers to all kinds of health problems or deseases-conflicts-widespread crimes and deaths around the world to deseases like infections-
diarrhea-choleras-worms-typhoids-gastro-food poisonings-etc.etc.etc. indoor air conditioned malls helps control those possible unwanted historical images-experiences in public tradings. organized crimes are hard to catch there were no walls,electronic cameras or few doors to slowed down criminals. if there are no malls means goods-products to sell will hardly be checked-look at-
controlled to higher uniformed standards. right taxes collections to improved the market areas will not exist nor improved greatly.if there are no malls to cater with respect and dignity to all customers-people then civilizations had not advanced in the sides of commerce-state of the art shoppings-etiquette-courtesy-educations-state of the art architectures and designs in all forms. ordinary employees-customers will not enjoy the conveniences of indoor comforts and malls work styles-services&salaries on time. both customers-employees will have limited meeting the right crowds-people who prefers to behave if not under rules. malls are kingdom of commerces where adult customers are queens and kings and their children are the prince & princesses under one big roofs.
malls protect people from getting wet-skin burnt in rainy or hot seasons. an escape away from humids. shopping whole days where your hair-smells is the same or better as you enter where food flies and all other insects who doesnt pay rents are not even allowed to stay. spaces are huge and open that customers need not stand ackwardly in front. public benches are available to sooth-rest aching legs-feets. waterfalls-fountains to relax the stressful minds and bodies. entire huge floor spaces-levels makes all customers exercise without even realizing it. loosing company or their children is not as scarry-panicky as it is outside the streets. security guards routinely do their jobs to make sure everyone is safe indoors. products varieties-wide selections is in one huge place. controlled quality assurances are given. a comfortable place to meet someone. malls have responsible high end business-caring owners as another assurance{liabilities insured}. malls ambiances-athmosphere are designed to meet customers safety,happiness,stays, experiences and comforts.
….anton….just keep walking with your wife in not so crowded mall while cell phone-midwife assistant must be handy….one must stay inside your car park in case you need to cell phone for a trip to hospital….stay close to mall’s main road exits your wife will need lots of walking-seedless red grapes to eat if there’s no contraction again….malls is good to prevent her-you from frustrations-remembering delivery time….but mall that is close to makati medical center or hospital of your choice….or a midwife with you just in case she must do it in a hotel nearby….the more you worry…the more unnecessary stresses will build up….it will make matters worst….unconventional yes….
wow i work at the 10th biggest mall thats not that bad i guess better than a little shopping mall
To those who commented that the Philippines is now gearing to Second World status: Are you a bunch of ignorant people? Second World refers to the communist states that are within the former USSR and other Soviet-influenced states. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the term has rarely been used.
It doesn’t mean that being a notch higher in this ‘Worlds Theory’ will mean a country is making progress economically.
The First World refers to the developed countries (USA and its allies).
Third World refers to the underdeveloped/developing countries which incidentally are mostly non-aligned or neutral countries.
actally north edsa na pinaka malaking mall sa philippines this 2009!!!
my God,hnd na ntn maiiwasan un.wat matters s dat 8 plays a major part of the economic performance of our country nd not the thing dat 8 ntervenes our cultural preservation.xori but dat mall thing s not da problem after all,da ppol r da ones hu knows how to be a true filipino,not da place.ok?b positive nman kau,yan ung hrap xatn eh.
my God,di na natin maiiwasan yun.what matters is that it plays a major part of the economic performance of our country and not the thing that it intervenes our cultural preservation.even economists would agree to that.anyway,these projects are not the problem,but the people itself.they are the one’s who chooses not to be nationalistic and would therefore change it’s own identity.just be optimistic,there’s nothing wrong with it.and besides,would you want to throw your candy?(idiomatic)very few people would agree to that.thanks.