SM SUPERMALLS is projecting the full recovery of its shopping mall chain from the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by 2023, according to its president.
SM Supermalls President Steven T. Tan said 2022 will be focused on recovery, with the mall chain recording a double-digit increase for the first two months of the year.
“Should I say that we are already back at pre-pandemic level? I don’t think so. This (2022) will be the year of recovery. Little by little, but we are not far from where we were in 2019. We’re expecting this most probably to recover fully by 2023,” Mr. Tan said in a recent interview on One News.
SM Supermalls is owned by listed property firm SM Prime Holdings, Inc.
Further, Mr. Tan said the mall chain’s occupancy rate has not declined amid the mobility restrictions and operating capacity guidelines set by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our occupancy rate has not really dropped. We have maintained a healthy (rate), around 85% to 90% occupancy all throughout the pandemic. As a matter of fact, there are still a lot of new tenants that are opening even during the pandemic,” Mr. Tan said.
Mr. Tan also disclosed that retailers are “very bullish” with the country’s economy despite the pandemic.
“When the pandemic hit in 2020, definitely it really hit us. It hit everyone. We were down by nearly 50% of our revenue. We were definitely affected. However, what we saw was there was a constant increase year on year. [In] 2021, [we] definitely did much better, double-digit growth from 2020,” Mr. Tan said.
Malacañang previously announced that the National Capital Region (NCR) remains under Alert Level 2 until Feb. 28. Alert Level 2 has been implemented in NCR since the beginning of February.
Under the said alert level, establishments are permitted to have 50% indoor capacity and 70% outdoor capacity. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
