New cinemas, outlets seen to boost CHRC retail sales

The retail industry remains robust in Cebu with two developers adding new concepts to their properties and upgrading their facilities to cater to the growing local demand.

Local property developers Colon Heritage Realty Corp. (CHRC) and AboitizLand, Inc. recently opened new and upgraded segments into their properties buoyed by robust growth in the local retail market.

They invested around P12 million to upgrade their two cinemas Oriente 1 and Oriente 2, said CHRC president Renato S. Avila.

The cinemas will complement their retail business in Colon, which is the Colonnade Mall.

oriente cinemas

Oriente 2 was reopened last Thursday while Oriente 1 will be reopened this December 24 in time for the Metro Manila Film Festival.

According to Avila, they upgraded their cinemas to digital as well as reduced its size from 1,100 seats to 250 seats in Oriente 1 and from 188 seats to 180 seats for Oriente 2.

“Prices will be on average P150 which we think the market can absorb,” Avila said.

The corporation which is composed of some of the oldest families in Cebu like the Avila, Canizares and De Veyra, said they are confident the downtown area of Cebu will remain vibrant.

While the uptown area of Cebu is also fast developing, the downtown area continues to have a large walking population, which is the market we are tapping, said Bobit S. Avila, CHRC vice president.

“Safe to say the universities in the area is a market as well as the half a million people living within a kilometer radius from our property,” said Jiggy Canizares, CHRC construction manager.

Oriente 1 and 2 are the remaining movie theaters in the downtown area.

THE OUTLETS

Meanwhile, AboitizLand, Inc. has introduced the first “outlets” concept in Cebu in their Pueblo Verde property which is the commercial strip outside of Mactan Economic Processing Zone 2 (MEPZ 2.)

They have invested nearly P60 million for the one hectare area they developed within Pueblo Verde that will soon house at least 22 outlet shops, said Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, assistant vice president for project development of Aboitizland.

“As of now we have eight brands that have confirmed. That includes Levi’s, Dockers, Converse, Adidas, Nike, Oakley and Reef, Giordano and Timberland. We expect more to open next year,” said De Mesa.

De Mesa said they plan to double the existing size adding one more hectare because of the increasing demand next year.

De Mesa said they are confident that Cebu market is ready for their concept.

In MEPZ 2 alone, there are at least 15,000 employees that is a potential market for their shops.

“There is good traffic in this area especially that we have a public terminal here. Daily traffic is estimated at 14,000 and another 500,000 that lives within the vicinity.”