Weekends offer a different story. On a weekend, malls are often bustling with people. The crowd measurement would just vary, but every mall has its potential clients. Expect the crowd to be even thicker at this time. Friends meet up in malls for brunch, lunch, merienda or dinner. Families go to the mall as a default place to spend time together and shop. Individuals with various businesses go to certain functions and stores to window shop, and most importantly some people just go there to unwind, cool down and relax.
Did I mention that malls here have legs too? No wonder that in any town with a feasible amount of square meter of land with thriving residents, a mall would often enshrine its development and progress. Take for example the Mall magnet SM (Shoemart). They are like mushrooms offering the same shops and conveniences to people, but they do not let people come to them. They come where the people are, no matter how small the distance. For example, we have SM Muntinlupa which is roughly 5 Kms away from SM Sucat and SM Sucat is roughly 5-10 kms from SM Bicutan. These three strategic points in the south (Muntinlupa, Sucat, Bicutan) have small distances from each other. They're practically neighbors with just a toll station separating them. I'm not even counting SM Las Pinas and SM Makati where predominantly most professionals can pass by before going home to the south. Wherever you are in the metro, if you've forgotten to buy something, I'm sure there's a mall nearby. For provinces, well expect the province to host at least one mall, and be happy if it does because it means the province is developed or on the road to development.
Come to think of it, we may not wow the global community in various areas, but we somehow have a knack at building BIGGER, BETTER and CLOSER PROXIMITY MALLS every single year. You thought Filipinos are "poor," but malls flourish here than any parts of the world compared to China, who hosts the biggest mall in the world, but also hosts the biggest flop in the mall market. Imagine a mall bigger than Mall of Asia (SM), with only 12 tenants. Bring that mall here, place it in the metro and sure enough it would create a following.
Stores Year Square Feet (meters) Stores Comments
| South China Mall Dongguan, China | 2005 | 7.1-million (660,000) | 9.6-million (892,000) | 1,500 | The world's largest shopping mall in early 2006 arrayed six separate themed areas. Recent visitors report that many retail spaces are vacant. Official site. |
| Jin Yuan (Golden Resources Shopping Mall) Beijing, China | 2004 | 6.0-million (560,000) | 7.3-million (680,000) | 1,000+ | Also known as the "Great Mall of China," this mega-mall has 6 floors and is located near the Fourth Ring Road, west of Beijing. |
| SM Mall of Asia Pasay City, Philippines | 2006 | 4.2-million (386,000)* | The largest mall in the Philippines is four buildings connected by walkways. It features several cinemas and movie theaters, an ice skating rink, and Science Discovery Center. Official Site. | ||
| West Edmonton Mall Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 1981 | 3.8-million (350,000) | 5.3-million (570,000) | 800 | Largest shopping mall in North America; includes indoor wave pool, amusement areas, hotel, restaurants; 20,000 parking spaces. Official site. |
| Cevahir Istanbul Istanbul, Turkey | 2005 | 3.8-million (348,000) | 4.5-million (420,000) | 280 | Apparently the largest shopping mall in Europe; has six floors, cinemas, roller coaster, and theater. Official site |
| SM City North Edsa Quezon City, Philippines | 1985 | 3.6-million (332,000)* | 900 | Has five floors, 12 digital movies theaters, and a 200-shop Cyberzone; an IMAX theater planned to open in early 2009. Official site. | |
| SM Megamall Mandaluyong City Philippines | 1991 | 3.6-million (332,000)* | 600 | Has a bowling center, ice skating rink, 12 movie theaters, and convention halls. One source credits the mall with 200 restaurants. Official site. | |
| Berjaya Times Square Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2005 | 3.4-million (320,000) | 7.5-million (700,000) | 1,000+ | Includes 45 restaurants, a theme park, and 3D Digi IMAX theater. Official site. |
| Beijing Mall Beijing, China | 2005 | 3.4-million (320,000) | 4.7-million (440,000) | 600 | Has 4 levels of shopping with interior residences; located near Fifth Ring Road, southeast of Beijing. |
| Zhengjia Plaza (Grandview Mall) Guangzhou, China | 2005 | 3.0-million (280,000) | 4.5-million (420,000) | Enclosed in a complex that includes a 48-story hotel and 30-story office building. Official Site. | |
| SM City Cebu Cebu City, Philippines | 1991 | 2.9-million (267,000) | Official Site. | ||
| King of Prussia Mall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA | 1962 | 2.8-million (260,000) | | 327 | Created by connecting together three adjacent malls, managed by a single company. Official site. |
| South Coast Plaza Costa Mesa, California, USA | 1967 | 2.7-million (250,000) | 280 | Official site. | |
| Central World Plaza Bangkok, Thailand | 2006 | 2.6-million (244,000) | 500+ | 21-screen cinemas, bowling lanes, and restaurants; also a convention center (not included in the GLA). Official site. | |
| Aricanduva Mall Sao Paulo, Brazil | 1991 | 2.6-million (242,000) | 3.7-million (342,000) | 535 | Largest mall in Brazil; part of a complex of 3 shopping malls with a total area of 11.8-million sq ft. Official site. |
| Chia Tai Square Shanghai, Jiangsu, China | 2005 | 2.6-million (240,000) | News releases in late 2005 touted it as "Asia's biggest shopping mall," but several other Asian malls appear to be considerably larger. | ||
| Dongfang Xin Tiandi (Oriental Plaza) Foshan, Guangdong, China | 2.5-million (230,000) | 8.6-million (800,000) | No details available. | ||
| Mall of America Bloomington, Minnesota, USA | 1992 | 2.5-million (230,000) | 4.2-million (390,000) | 520 | Largest shopping mall in the United States (by total area); includes a theme park, entertainment district on the 4th floor, and aquarium. Official site. |
| Sawgrass Mills Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA | 1990 | 2.5-million (230,000) | 4.2-million (390,000) | 300 | This sprawling, open-air mall, contains mainly discount outlets, along with restaurants, cinemas and other entertainments. Official site. |
| Siam Paragon Bangkok, Thailand | 2005 | 2.5-million (230,000) | 4.1-million (377,000) | Official site. Additional site. | |
| Panda Mall Chengdu, Sichuan, China | 2.5-million (230,000) | 3.9-million (360,000) | Part of a mixed-use complex. Official site. | ||
| Del Amo Fashion Center Los Angeles, California, USA | 1975 | 2.5-million (230,000) | 300 | Del Amo straddles several blocks in the city of Torrence, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Official site. | |
| Mall of the Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 2005 | 2.4-million (225,000) | 6.5-million (600,000) | 350 | One complex in a vast entertainment and consumer-oriented district; encloses a 400-meter indoor ski slope. Official site. |
*Philippines have 4 upper tier posts in the world's biggest mall. But I bet they are the most successful.
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