TACLOBAN CITY, gearing up to be a highly urbanized city in Eastern Visayas, is now home to a retail giant that aims to boost the city?s thriving economy and business competitiveness.

Robinsons Place Tacloban, the 25th mall of the Gokongwei shopping chain, recently opened its doors to a massive crowd of shoppers?Taclobanons, Leyteños and Samareños alike?eager to experience ?malling.?

The first mall to operate in Eastern Visayas, a region of more than four million people, is located in Taboan, Marasbaras, Tacloban City.

The mall?s inauguration was attended by top executives from Robinsons and JG Summit groups, including James Go, Robinsons Land Corporation chairman and chief executive officer; Lance Gokongwei, JG Summit president and chief operating officer; Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Robinsons Retail Group senior vice president; Frederick Go, Robinsons Land president and chief operating officer; and Johnson Robert Go, Movieworld general manager.

Local government officials from the city included Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez and his wife, former actress and city councilor Cristina Gonzales Romualdez, Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, former Mayor Alfredo ?Bejo? Romualdez, former Governor Benjamin ?Kokoy? Romualdez, Vice Governor Mimyit Bagulaya and Department of Tourism director Karina Tiopes.

Also seen were local and national retailers, including Ruben Yu (Leyte Lumber), Allan Lee (Leyte Development Corp.), Paul Along (Shell Philippines), Melvin Schroth (Coca Cola), Tricia Torres (Casa Ilongga), Henry Gosyco (Goldilocks), Paul Santos (Picture City), Cristina Domingo (Guess), Milagros Uy (Lotto) and Aris Ferolino.

Sprawled across 33,600 square meters of what used to be a bus terminal, the mall is a major part of a four-hectare mixed-use development venture that will soon include a hotel, luxury boutique stores and a call center.

?With the opening of Robinsons, we hope to be a regional destination,? said Frederick Go. ?We want to serve all the residents of Tacloban, the whole province of Leyte as well as Samar.

?Tacloban is a good city, well-populated yet underserved,? he added. ?Its local government is very dynamic and very welcoming. That?s always very important to us. In a way, it inspires us to accelerate our entry to a locality.?

More local jobs

The opening of Robinsons in Tacloban has also generated jobs. Go estimated about 3,000 locals have been employed, directly or indirectly.

?Part of the expansion is a hotel to be constructed next to the mall. The first few floors will also be retail outlets, and probably a bridgeway to connect the two phases. It?s really about time. The congressman and the mayor have been talking to us about the development needed here. I think one of the greatest opportunities now after the shopping mall will be a hotel.?

Despite the economic downturn, Go believes the Philippine economy is still doing well.

?We?re very optimistic about retail spending. Everyday, people have to eat and drink, everyday people have to shop. And shopping malls cater to that segment. We?re not selling cars inside the mall. It?s an everyday lifestyle and we think people will carry on with this lifestyle. Our malls cater to all classes of society. We hope we?ll be able to serve all the residents of Tacloban City or the entire Region 8. We hope this will be the favorite family destination in Eastern Visayas,? he said.

Topnotch lineup

With 85 percent of the tenants already in place, Robinsons Tacloban has leading national and local food and retail players.

Johnson Go, general manager of the department store, said stocks and supply for ladies? wear and apparel would also be as current as in Manila.

Local shoppers can also check out other shops, restaurants and services including Bench, Levi's, Converse, Guess, Alberto, Blues Bros, Sun Shop, Travel Club, The Gustavian, Pino, Rai-Rai Ken, Shakey?s, Jollibee and Goldilocks.

There are also outlets owned by local and regional entrepreneurs, such as Cristina?s Salon and Spa (owned by Cristina Gonzales Romualdez); M. Lhuillier Jewelry, Gustavian and Pino (owned by the Lhuilliers of Cebu), Charito?s Delights (Emma Bermejo) and JCO Foodspot (Joanne Fides Ortiz).

Local tenants were ecstatic over the opening day sales. Charito?s Delights, offering Samar delicacies such as pastillas de ube, mazapan de pili, curioso and torta, had raked in about P50,000 by 3 p.m. (the mall opened at 10 a.m.). Mang Inasal had estimated sales of P50,000 or 200 chicken parts sold by 12 noon of that day. The appliance center reported an estimated revenue of P600,000.

RLC is opening five more shopping malls in key cities of the region, including Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Robinsons Cybergate-Bacolod.