Aside from home furnishings, IKEA Mandaue will also offer Swedish food products, including its famous meatballs and lingonberry jam, typically served with a rich, savory cream sauce.
“We are excited to be part of your everyday life helping Cebuanos to have more functional, well-designed, and more affordable solutions in their life at home,” IKEA Philippines country retail manager Ricardo Pinheiro said during the unveiling of the Ayala Malls Gatewalk on June 10.
Five basketball courts
IKEA Mandaue will be one of the new mall’s key anchors, occupying about 4,000 square meters of floor space – about the size of five basketball courts, said Pinheiro.
“The IKEA Mandaue will feature 41 inspiration showcases packed with design solutions for kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms, aiming to inspire Cebuanos to create more functional, sustainable, and affordable homes,” he said.
While the new branch will stock 2,500 products for immediate takeaway, shoppers will also gain access to the retailer's complete catalog of 8,500 items through an on-site, team-assisted ordering system.
The retailer's home furnishing team will provide personalized planning services for kitchens, bedrooms, wardrobes, and living room storage, catering to both residential clients and local businesses seeking tailored space solutions.
The store will also create about 100 jobs – 50 are directly hired by IKEA to work in the store while the rest will be hired by their partners and services throughout the region.
High potential
It took IKEA five years to put up another branch in the Philippines. Its first store opened on Nov. 25, 2021, which made global headlines as the largest IKEA store in the world, spanning 65,000 square meters. The location for the new IKEA branch could not be more fitting.
The location for the new IKEA branch cannot be more apt. It is located in Mandaue City, considered the furniture capital of the Philippines.
A significant portion of the country’s furniture exports originate from factories based in Mandaue. This city is also home to a number of big manufacturing plants, homegrown design houses and major furniture retail brands.
The decision to locate the next branch in Mandaue was driven by strong demand from Cebu City and Mandaue City, which IKEA identified as its biggest growth markets outside Metro Manila based on online orders.
Another consideration was Mandaue’s reputation as a center for furniture and design.
Pinheiro said they wanted to be in the “right city” known for its passion for design and furnishings.
“And, of course, we want to combine that with the IKEA competence and the IKEA range. We will work together with designers, we will have our own team in the store of designers, so we want to take advantage of that,” he said.
There is also their partnership with Ayala, which Pinheiro said, made things simple and easy for IKEA.
Most fun mall
Ayala Malls Gatewalk, a 56,000-square-meter retail and lifestyle destination, will be Ayala's third mall in Cebu, joining Ayala Center Cebu and Ayala Central Bloc.
Scheduled to open on Dec. 16, the four-level, air-conditioned mall will feature a bi-level food hall and an ARTrium, an interactive digital art hallway at the main entrance designed to make visitors feel part of the experience from the moment they arrive.
At its central outdoor courtyard will be a giant slide in the shape of a butanding (whale shark) which is famous in Oslob town, 120 kilometers south of Cebu.
In her speech during the launch, Ayala Land senior vice president and head of leasing and hospitality Mariana Zobel de Ayala described Ayala Malls Gatewalk as one of the most playful mall experiences the company has ever designed.
“With the Ayala Malls' Gatewalk, we work to create a place that is joyful, surprising, and a little larger than life. From bold design moments to unexpected spaces for play and discovery, this is a mall that's designed to make people look up, wander longer, take photos, bring their families and come back with friends,” she said.
Natural fit
Ayala Malls chief operating officer Paul Birkett said Ayala Malls Gatewalk was the most playful mall experience the company had ever created, making it a natural fit for the vibrant and fun-loving community it serves.
“The mall here is built to be explored. We want people to go right, to wander, to simultaneously discover something that they didn't expect, and feel that the mall gives them more than one way to enjoy today. I constantly refer to the importance of the mall just tapping into your emotion, and not just about transactions,” he said.
Birkett said that when the mall opens in December, he intends to be one of the first to try the giant slide that runs from the top level to the ground floor.
"And it's not just for kids. It's for anyone who is still young at heart and enjoys a bit of play, including me," he added. — Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
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