6 things mall developers consider when choosing new branches

MANILA, Philippines – There’s a science and strategy when real estate firms choose a new mall location.

For major mall developers such as Robinsons Land, the SM Group, Ayala Land, and Festival Mall, population is not the only reason they consider when building malls.

At a real estate forum on November 14, mall developers shared what are in their checklist. Here are 6 points in their list: 

1. Level of economic activity. Developers want to know how many businesses open in a particular locale and whether there is an influx of retailers, sales, and see what are the drivers of the local economy in that area are.
   
   
2. Number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Remittances are key to encouraging consumption in the country. OFWs send money to their family who use these funds for basic needs as well as for education, investments, and savings.
   
   
3. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the province or region. Mall developers also consider the level of growth of the province. This will allow them to approximate the chances of growing their business in an area.
   
   
4. Wage hikes. Mall developers also want to know how much wages are in a particular locale so they have a sense of what to expect in terms of costs. This will also help them determine the level of people’s incomes. 
   
   
5. Global trends. Companies also monitor global trends to see which trends will affect their expansion plans. This also keeps them abreast with how economies perform and how products are traded over a certain period of time.
   
   
6. People. The number of people matters as much as how people behave toward malls, consumption, and of course, the products they want and need to buy. This will help mall developers determine which shops they can and cannot bring in as mall locators or tenants. The SM executive said they aim to meet at least 80% of people’s wants and needs. 

– Rappler.com