The president of SM Prime Holdings Inc., yesterday said the entry of Shoe Mart in Bacolod City should not be considered as a threat by local businesses in the city.

Hans Sy said SM will contribute to the economy of Bacolod rather than affect other businesses. He said that, based on their experiences, the business taxes of other establishments did not reduce but were maintained and they are only an add-on.

Sy said they believe they were able to contribute to the economy rather than affect other businesses. "I could say, rather than eating up the pie, we're making the pie bigger now," he said. They have already experienced this in other provinces like Pampanga, Baguio or even Davao, he added. Because of curiosity, people might want to come over to SM in the first two months, Sy said. The opening will also attract people from the neighboring provinces to come here, he said.

Sy said they are happy to have built a word-class mall in Bacolod City. He said they believe that people in the provinces like Bacolod also deserve the best kind of mall. He added, that he calls it the "Mall of Asia in Bacolod."

SM City Bacolod, the 28th supermall of SM Prime Holdings, opens its doors to the public today. The 60,000 square meter mall, is located on a 16-hectare property at the reclamation area.

During the blessing of the mall yesterday 103 out of its 119 stores opened. This includes fashion boutiques, shoe and home stores, and computer stores.

MALL ATTRACTIONS

SM City Bacolod also has local and international fast food chains, food retailers, and specialty restaurants, apart from the foodcourt.

Some of the mall's attraction are an al fresco dining area called the Fiesta Strip, an Event Centre and a theater that can be converted into a venue for concert, plays, product launches and conventions.

A 2 p.m. mass was officiated by Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra yesterday at the mall while the ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by SM founder Henry Sy, Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon, Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Vice Mayor Renecito Novero, Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas, Cebu Mayor Tomas Osmena, Simplicio Palanca and other top SM officials.

CELEBRITIES

Among the celebrities present at the soft opening were Charlene Gonzalez, Jose Marie Chan and Marc Nelson. Sy said that with the opening of SM City Bacolod, 3,500 people have been hired by direct employment aside from another 3,500 hired by their tenants which means a total of 7,000 jobs.

He said they are happy with the reception of the Bacoleños and the unquestionable support of the city government. "You could really feel that the city is doing all this for the people of Bacolod," he said.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he believes the opening of SM City Bacolod is an overwhelming event because it comes very rarely to Bacolod.

He said that in other places where SM came in, people from other towns come to the place because it is an attraction, but this will normalize after a while. In the long run, the market becomes bigger so the pie becomes bigger and everybody will also get a slice of that, he said.

INVESTORS' CONFIDENCE

Leonardia said he welcomes the entry of Shoe Mart and that he has seen how the people anticipated this. We can feel the excitement in the air so SM must be congratulated for this architectural achievement, he said. "But more than an architectural wonder, this place for me is a symbol of investors' confidence in Bacolod City," he added. Leonardia said that if Henry Sy can trust his money in Bacolod, then there must be something here. "This is a further validation of the title bestowed upon us by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry that Bacolod is the Most Business Friendly City in the Visayas," he said.

Leonardia said "We are given this opportunity to move in, to ride on this momentum and it is up to us to sustain, maintain and see to it that there is continuity in the growth and progress of Bacolod."

He said he would like to see the people think in very positive ways. "We know that if Shoe Mart grows in Bacolod, the city will grow with it. And if Bacolod grows, all the others will also grow," he said.

In terms of taxes, the entry of Shoe Mart eventually means resources for the government to be able to serve the rest of the population, Leonardia said.

CONVENTION CENTER

Meanwhile, Sy said they are considering putting up a convention center in the city. He said nothing is final yet but it is very much in their plan and they are studying it right now. The putting up of other businesses like townhouses may also be included in their plan, but not in the immediate future, because their focus right now is in the shopping center development, he said.

Sy said they are currently expanding their supermall in Cebu and are looking for other potential properties for expansion since they believe Cebu is also another interesting area.*CGS

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