Making it through the storm
TWENTY-EIGHT years since the first Robinsons mall opened in the Ortigas Center, Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) hit a milestone when it opened its 50th mall in Cagayan’s Tuguegarao City in July this year.
The opening of the 5.7-hectare mixed use development came at the heels of the opening of the company’s third mall in Iloilo, Pavia, in June.
Robinsons Mall Pavia, has over 27,000 square meters of retail space and 3,500 square meter outdoor water playground, AquaFun.
Robinsons Place Tuguegarao is the second mall in Region II after Robinsons Place Santiago opened in 2014.
Despite being battered by Typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut), considered the strongest typhoon to hit Luzon since 2010, which laid waste to nearly 76,000 homes in Cagayan, Robinsons Tuguegarao made it through with minor damage.
“Robinsons Place Tuguegarao sustained minor damage, particularly to its exterior. Power has been restored on Sept. 18 within the vicinity of the mall although parts of the city are still without electricity,” Arlene G. Magtibay, general manager of the commercial centers division of RLC, told BusinessWorld through a text message on Sept. 19, before adding “customer traffic in the mall is back to normal,” with the mall offering to charge mobile phones, gadgets and rechargeable lanterns for free to help affected residents.
THE DESIGN
Inspired by the “Golden Harvest” as Cagayan Valley (where Tuguegarao is located) is one of the country’s top producers of rice and corn, the mall was designed with many accents and features using rice grain or palay as a motif, from the ceiling accents to murals on the pillars.
“Since malls are essential parts in Philippine society, [ASYA Design] made sure to make the space as engaging to the consumers as possible,” architect Albert Yu of ASYA Design said in a press release.
Ortigas-based ASYA Design collaborates frequently with RLC — the company designed several Robinsons malls including Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Robinsons Place General Trias, and, most recently, Robinsons Place Ormoc.
“We design modern malls to be as engaging to the consumers as possible. There is also a trend in terms of blurring the lines between shops and common spaces. Traditional shop fronts are reinvented and public areas of the malls are being integrated into shops and vice versa. We also need to address sustainability and green design practices to minimize our malls’ impact on the environment such as the provision of solar panels, atriums to let in natural light, low-flow water fixtures, energy-saving lighting fixtures etc.,” Mr. Yu added.
Considered the first full-service mall in the city, Robinsons Place Tuguegarao features 60,000 square meters of retail space which includes six digital cinemas (one of which has 3D capabilities) which can seat more than 1,300 audience members.
“This way, people from Tuguegarao won’t have to travel for two hours just to watch their favorite films,” Ms. Magtibay said during the mall’s launch on July 26.
The new mall features many of the usual suspects: from Handyman, Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Department Store, and Daiso Japan which debuted its new sakura (Japanese cherry blossom) look in Tuguegarao. The airier, more spacious style will be carried over to the company’s flagship, Robinsons Galleria, once the Daiso branch there opens.
Aside from the tried and true merchants, Robinsons Tuguegarao also features homegrown brands including restaurants such as Slobber Lab, Alice Pancit Malabon, Criselda’s, Mix & Match, Sensei, OZ Organic, and Baker’s Percent.
Clothing retailers present in the mall include Uniqlo, Mango, Guess, Levi’s, Bench, and Penshoppe.
In the next few years, Robinsons Tuguegarao will welcome a branch of Go Hotels which will be accessed directly from the hotel, as announced by RLC president Frederick D. Go during the same launch. — Zsarlene B. Chua
