SM City North Edsa honors pioneer tenants

SM City North EDSA capped its 25th Anniversary Celebrations with a gala evening honoring its pioneer tenants. It paid tribute to 53 business partners who joined the mall from November 1985 to December 1986 for sharing the vision of SM Founder and Chairman Henry Sy, Sr., and made Philippine shopping center history in the process.

During his frequent buying trips abroad during the 1950s and the 1960s, Mr. Sy observed the shopping center development in the US from the east to the west coast. That was the time the suburbs or burbs were rising, each with a shopping mall as a center of activity. He thought that it would be possible in the Philippines.

The country, however, was in the midst of a major political and economic crisis when North-EDSA was being planned in the 1980s. “In 1983, we were building SM City North EDSA, our first shopping mall,” Mr. Sy recalls. “Many people at that time said I was crazy. There was a political crisis; interest rates were as high as 45%, and the location of the mall was in the middle of nowhere. They said that the mall would not succeed, but SM City North EDSA was an instant success when it opened on November 8, 1985.

Today, as SM City North EDSA celebrates its 25th Anniversary, it is the largest mall in the Philippines and one of the largest in the world. More than that, it was the mall that started in all. It made malling part of the lives of many Filipinos, and today, there are 40 SM Supermalls to serve customers in key cities in the metro and the provinces.

In the 25th Anniversary Gala, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte joined SM Prime Holdings President Hans T. Sy, SM Investments Vice Chair Tessie Sy Coson, and SM Supermarkets President Herbert Sy in paying tribute to the tenants who took the risk, and made a difference. Many of these tenants, are captains of industry in the Philippines, believed in Mr. Sy’s vision, and have grown with SM.

“We decided to go against the odds and open a store in SM because we felt that the brand was ready to move ahead, “ recalls Bench Founder and Chairman Ben Chan. “SM had faith in our efforts to grow the business. During those years of uncertainty, were willing to support SM’s vision and take on the challenges that lay ahead.”

Ricky Reyes says he decided to open a salon in the mall in November 1985 because, “I’m a very adventurous businessman, and I could see the trend leading to the popularity of shopping malls.”

National Bookstore’s Presy Ramos recalls, “We believed in Mr. Henry Sy, Sr.’s vision. National Bookstore always had the greatest respect and admiration for him. We were more than happy to accept his offer to open a branch at SM City North EDSA.”

“We trusted the Sy family,” says Manel’s Manny Siggaoat. “Many people dissuaded us because the idea of a shopping mall as a destination was not yet known. But the family was very optimistic despite the political crisis at that time.”

Jollibee’s Mr. William Tan recalls “the time I was scheduled to meet Mr. Henry Sy, Sr. about opening a branch at SM City North EDSA. I was told that they scheduled the meeting at 12 midnight, and when we reached the place we were surprised to still see Mr. Sy in the office with his staff. We were amazed at SM’s dedication to work, and thought that despite the odds, the mall would be a success.”

“When things are not going as planned, or your environment and situations are not exactly optimal, that’s the time to trust in a vision,” says Mr. Freddie Go of Goldilocks. “So we trusted our instincts, saw that Mr. Sy and the SM Group shared this philosophy, and ventured forward. We took a leap of faith, and it worked out very well for us, thank God.”

Mc Donald’s Mr. George Yang says, “McDonald’s saw believed in the potential of SM to become the place to be for Filipinos. SM shares the same vision as McDonald’s to provide Filipinos with quality products at affordable prices -it was just a perfect fit.”

“I remember that when we were cutting the ribbon on opening day, people were telling me, ‘Bob, bakit ka nagbuikas? Napakagulo ng mundo.’ And I said, ‘No, this is the best mall that Metro Manila will see, and hindi kami maaring mawala duon,” says Toby’s Roberto Claudio. “While we had our apprehensions because SM City North EDSA at that time was a barren field in the middle of nowhere, we believed in Mr. Sy’s vision and are glad to have been part of it.”

“In any kind of endeavor, there is always a risk,” says Sportshouse’s Marcelino Chua. “Perseverance is very important. Don’t you think that there was a place for opportunities during that time?”

“I opened Video City in SM City North EDSA upon the encouragement of Mr. Sy,” says Vic del Rosario, Jr. Founder and Head of the Viva Entertainment Group. “I did not know anything about the retail business at that time, but Mr. Sy knew what he was doing, and the rest as they say, is history. We could not have gone wrong with Mr. Sy and SM.”

Mrs. Socorro Ramos of National Bookstore and Mr. William Tan of Jollibee gave the response in behalf of the tenants.

The program hosted by Johnny Litton and Bernadette Sembrano, featured the music and the memories of the times performed by some of the country’s top artists. It also featured vignettes from the mall, and showed SM City North EDSA as it is today. Among these were Gino Padilla, Rachel Alejandro, and Jet Pangan singing an eighties medley including the iconic We Built this City; Hajji Alejandro, Sitti, and Princess in a Christmas medley in the portion honoring the tenants who joined the mall from September to December 1986; and Bangs Garcia, Kristel Moreno, Saicy Aguila, and Gem Ramos in an upbeat version of Umbrella, as the background for the fashion show which introduced the tenants who came in from March to August 1986.

The audience was moved with a soulful rendition of Bayan Ko and Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo, sang as vignettes from the EDSA Revolution flashed on the screen during the portion honoring the tenants who joined the mall in January to February 1986. An OPM medley featuring Audi Gemora, Guji Lorenzana, Isay Alvarez, Cris Villongco, Franco Laurel, and Sheila Francisco introduced the pioneer tenants who were there when the mall opened on November 1985.

The religious anthems were popularized in the Catholic religious youth festival officiated by now Saint John Paul 2 and in the drama series of television networks, was moved with a soulful rendition of Charito Unite and Ernie dela Pena’s “May Bukas Pa”, Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ’s “Tanging Yaman” and “Sa’Yo Lamang”, Dana’s “We Are One Body”, Trina Belamide’s Tell the World of His Love, Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros, SJ’s “Pananagutan” and Jamie Rivera and Noel Espenida’s “We Are All God’s Children”, sang as vignettes from the 1981 and 1995 visit of John Paul 2 in the Philippines, 1993 visit in Denver, Colorado, United States, the 2009 drama series starring Zaijan Jaranilla, the 2010 political drama series of the same title, the 2013-2014 drama series “Honesto” starring Raikko Mateo, and 2015 apostolic and state visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines on the screen during the portion.

The event also highlighted SM City North EDSA’s customers, as well as the community it serves. The winner of the Audi raffle draw Ms. Prescila Joson, was announced during the evening, and she received her keys to her luxury car from SM Prime Holdings President Hans T. Sy and Benedicto Coyuito of PGA Cars. The 25 homes in the GK SM Village were also turned over to Gawad Kalinga’s Tony Meloto.

Capping the celebrations was a wonderful rendition of “Sunlight” by Lea Salonga, who sang it as images of the Skygarden were flashed on the screen.