Mall of traditions remains relevant

Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall is an establishment that highly values Philippine traditions and customs. August dela cruz

It stands conspicuously on the boundaries of Cainta, Rizal and Marikina City, serving as a familiar landmark for those living on the eastern side of the metro.

Jutting out from the corner of Felix Ave. and Marcos Highway in Cainta is the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, the first large scale mall to rise in the area, which had brought new retail, dining, and entertainment options to the community and its neighboring cities.

And despite the proliferation of new retail centers in the area, Sta. Lucia has managed to retain a loyal clientele since it first opened its doors to the public in 1991, and even attract new mall goers. This has been evident in the mall’s strong traffic count of roughly 1.6 million a month.

“All malls are similar in that they sell the same products and carry mostly the same brands. But for you to remain competitive, you need to have a distinct identity. You also have to know what your customers want and look for so you can entice them to go back to your mall,” said Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall vice president for operations Zaldy Santos.

Mall of traditions

In their case, Sta. Lucia has not only emerged as a mall that offers new concepts, a contemporary setup, and a healthy mix of homegrown and foreign brands. It is also known as a mall that highly values Philippine traditions and customs.

“We started observing these traditions about 10 years ago, and we saw that our mall goers were highly receptive to the idea of us bringing these activities closer to them. We gave them an alternative,” Santos said.

“For the Holy Week, for instance, we hold a number of traditional activities such as the cenakulo, a parade and procession, penitensya, pabasa, and the Stations of the Cross. Last week, we also held a Marian Exhibit, featuring life sized images,” Santos further said.

One of the more sought after activities at the Sta. Lucia Mall in the past decade is the cenakulo, which will be held in front of the Il Centro today and tomorrow (Sunday).

This formed part of century-old traditions and pious customs that are being observed by many devout Catholics in the country, in commemoration of the Holy Week. During this period, Catholics commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which culminates on the Easter Sunday of the resurrection.

Remaining relevant

“This is how we stay relevant. We always look for things and concepts that our mall goers would want. Our Lenten activities are just among the events that we regularly hold at our mall, and which our customers would look forward to. Next month, we will also be holding Flores de Mayo and our beauty pageants, which have served as a stepping stone for some contenders of bigger pageants,” Santos explained.

“The same goes with our tenants. We make sure to choose those concepts which we think would appeal to our customers,” he added.

Today, Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall continues to enjoy the loyal patronage among those living in Marikina, Pasig and Rizal. This is the reason why Sta. Lucia continues to expand, with its total floor area now reaching a total of 192,000 sqm. Bulk of its tenants are food establishments, followed by apparel stores.

The latest addition to the mall is the Il Centro, which houses homegrown and foreign brands, thus providing fresh concepts for the mall goers from the east. The Il Centro boasts of 9,000 sqm of retail space, while The Brickroad spans across 3,000 sqm of commercial space.

“We always strive to remain relevant and this was what allowed us to become competitive throughout the years. We have more plans in the pipeline to keep up with the changing demands and preferences of mall goers. It’s going to be an exciting time for us at Sta. Lucia Mall,” Santos concluded.