Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Chagee Same-Store Sales Fall 16.1% in China as Network Shifts Direct

    Chagee Same-Store Sales Fall 16.1% in China as Network Shifts Direct

    Chagee posted a 16.1 per cent drop in same-store gross merchandise value across Greater China for the second quarter, marking its fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit declines at home.

    Total revenue for the Nasdaq-listed tea chain edged up 2.5 per cent year on year to RMB3.4 billion (US$503.3 million) in the three months ended June 30, while operating income jumped 387.6 per cent to RMB524.7 million. Total gross merchandise value fell 5.5 per cent to RMB7.66 billion, weighed down by a 9 per cent contraction in Greater China to RMB7.16 billion.

    Network shifts to corporate stores

    Chagee is responding to cooling domestic demand by buying back franchised outlets and running them directly. In Greater China, company-operated stores jumped from 164 to 624 over the past twelve months, while franchised locations declined from a peak of 6,836 in September 2025 to 6,616.

    Those company-owned outlets made up 11.6 per cent of the total network at the end of June but generated 27.5 per cent of overall revenue. Direct-store revenue climbed to RMB940.6 million, offsetting an 18.1 per cent fall in franchise revenue to RMB2.47 billion. Meanwhile, active members fell from 50 million in the first quarter to 47.1 million.

    China’s beverage chains are grappling with the aftermath of an aggressive 2025 delivery platform price war that drove cup prices down to single digits. While rivals like Mixue and Heytea rely heavily on deep discounting and sheer store density, Chagee is attempting to lift unit margins by consolidating ownership of its best locations.

    Overseas footprint doubles

    Outside China, gross merchandise value rose 114.3 per cent to RMB504 million. Chagee expanded its international footprint to 399 stores from 208 a year earlier, with initial momentum in new territories including South Korea, where its first three Seoul locations sold more than 16,000 cups in three days.

    Yet existing international stores are feeling the same demand pressures as domestic sites. Overseas same-store GMV declined 15.1 per cent during the quarter, steepening from a 12 per cent drop in the first three months of the year.

    Investors will watch whether the pace of franchise buybacks can stabilize network revenue before international same-store sales deteriorate further in the third quarter.

  • Shein Targets US$1.7 Billion Hong Kong Listing After Shifting Focus to China

    Shein Targets US$1.7 Billion Hong Kong Listing After Shifting Focus to China

    Shein will debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, seeking to raise US$1.7 billion after abandoning earlier plans to list in New York and London.

    The listing values the fast-fashion group at US$26.5 billion, down from its peak valuation of more than US$100 billion in 2022. That drop follows years of regulatory hurdles in the West and an extensive effort to secure approval from Chinese market authorities.

    Supply Chain Commitments and Regulatory Clearances

    Founded in Nanjing in 2012, Shein shifted its corporate headquarters to Singapore in late 2021 as part of an attempt to position itself as a global retail player. That strategy ran into resistance from Chinese regulators, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which reviews foreign-registered businesses with substantial domestic operations.

    Founder Sky Xu responded by taking direct charge of regulatory relations in China. Xu made a rare public appearance at a February business forum in Guangdong province, pledging a US$1.5 billion investment to expand the company’s supply chain network across the region.

    The company also opened a research and development centre in Nanjing. In its Hong Kong listing prospectus, Shein confirmed that mainland China remains the central anchor of its logistics network and accounts for nearly 80 per cent of its total workforce.

    Western Market Pressures Reshape Listing Strategy

    Attempts to secure listings in the United States and the United Kingdom unraveled under heightened political and regulatory scrutiny. US lawmakers pushed for supply chain audits under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, while trade policy shifts eliminated the US$800 de minimis customs exemption that originally accelerated Shein’s cross-border parcel volumes. European authorities introduced comparable parcel handling charges.

    Former executive chairman Donald Tang stepped down ahead of the Hong Kong filing after his previous public remarks claiming American corporate values drew criticism from Chinese officials.

    For retailers across Asia, Shein’s pivot illustrates the limits of cross-border corporate restructuring when manufacturing remains concentrated in southern China. Regional e-commerce operators face a tighter compliance environment globally, leaving Hong Kong as the primary capital market for Chinese-rooted digital exporters.

    Trading begins on Tuesday on the Hong Kong exchange, where investors will test Shein’s revised pricing against slowing margins in overseas markets.

  • Techcombank CEO Jens Lottner Earns $650,000 in First Half

    Techcombank CEO Jens Lottner Earns $650,000 in First Half

    Techcombank chief executive Jens Lottner earned nearly VND17 billion ($650,000) in the first half of 2026, marking a 29 per cent pay increase from a year earlier.

    The figure accounted for more than half of the VND32.9 billion the Hanoi-based private lender paid across its executive leadership, board of directors, and supervisory board during the six-month period.

    Executive compensation at Techcombank

    Reviewed half-year financial statements show total leadership remuneration grew by more than 6 per cent year on year. Lottner personally received VND16.9 billion in salary and performance bonuses, averaging roughly $108,000 a month.

    General staff pay shifted upward at a slower pace. Bank employees earned an average of VND46 million a month in total compensation over the same six months, up 4.5 per cent from the prior year.

    International leadership in Vietnamese banking

    Lottner, a German national with a doctorate in economics from Dresden University of Technology, took the helm at Techcombank in August 2020. His career spans three decades in financial advisory and commercial banking across Asia and Europe, including tenures at McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Siam Commercial Bank in Thailand.

    Private lenders across Southeast Asia have consistently relied on senior expatriate executives to overhaul consumer banking, digital platforms, and credit underwriting. Securing that regional experience requires compensation packages that sit well above local market baselines.

    Investors now look to Techcombank’s third-quarter earnings disclosures to assess whether retail loan growth and fee income justify the bank’s operational spending.

  • Graas Raises US$17 Million and Buys Trustana to Expand Retail AI Tools

    Graas Raises US$17 Million and Buys Trustana to Expand Retail AI Tools

    Singapore e-commerce technology platform Graas has raised US$17 million in fresh capital and completed the acquisition of product data company Trustana.

    The transaction brings Trustana’s catalogue and product intelligence software directly into Graas’s automated operating system for consumer brands across the region.

    Integrating Product Data

    Graas builds artificial intelligence software designed to optimize inventory, ad spend, and pricing decisions across digital marketplaces. Adding Trustana, an enterprise data startup initially incubated by Temasek, gives the combined entity deeper capability in structuring product catalogues and syndicating retail data across fragmented sales channels.

    Brand operators across Southeast Asia frequently run concurrent storefronts on Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, and standalone web platforms. Managing product data across those channels remains one of the most persistent operational bottlenecks in regional digital commerce.

    Consolidation in E-Commerce Tech

    Software vendors across the region are consolidating capabilities as enterprise clients push to trim their technology vendor counts. Graas previously expanded its footprint by acquiring specialized marketing and logistics analytics companies across India and Southeast Asia.

    RetailNews Asia views the deal as a clear shift away from standalone point solutions toward unified enterprise software suites capable of running daily merchant operations autonomously.

    Integration of Trustana’s data pipelines into the Graas platform begins immediately, with the combined software suite scheduled for enterprise rollout over the coming quarter.

  • Australian Shoppers Trust AI Recommendations over In-Store Retail Staff

    Australian Shoppers Trust AI Recommendations over In-Store Retail Staff

    Australian consumers now place more trust in artificial intelligence for shopping recommendations than in human retail staff, according to new industry research tracking store-floor buyer habits.

    The findings point to a decisive shift in how shoppers research products, compare prices, and finalize purchasing decisions across Australian retail channels.

    The shift away from floor staff

    Shoppers increasingly turn to automated search assistants, chatbot tools, and algorithm-driven recommendation engines before speaking to floor employees. Fast access to product specifications, unvarnished peer reviews, and real-time inventory checks gives digital tools an edge over human staff who may lack deep product knowledge.

    Retail workers face higher shopper expectations as a result. Store visitors often arrive having already researched technical details online, using physical visits primarily to confirm choices rather than seek basic sales guidance.

    What the preference change means for store networks

    Across the Asia-Pacific region, merchants in mature retail markets like Australia, Japan, and Singapore are reallocating technology budgets to support instant customer queries at the shelf edge. Retailers that integrate generative assistants into loyalty apps and in-store digital kiosks capture buyer intent earlier in the shopping cycle.

    Store operators must now decide how to retrain frontline staff to handle complex customer service issues rather than standard product lookup tasks.

  • TSMC Agrees to Produce Three 3Nm Chips for Xiaomi

    TSMC Agrees to Produce Three 3Nm Chips for Xiaomi

    Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing agreed to produce three custom chips for Xiaomi, including a next-generation three-nanometre smartphone processor starting in 2026.

    The contract ties the $2.0 trillion Taiwanese foundry directly into the Chinese brand’s hardware expansion across flagship handsets, smart devices and automotive platforms. Xiaomi plans to deploy the primary 3nm design, designated the Xring O3, in its premium smartphones before rolling out two companion processors for consumer artificial intelligence devices and autonomous vehicle controls.

    Expanding beyond data centres

    Adding Xiaomi diversifies TSMC’s advanced-node order book at a time when top-tier 3nm wafer allocation has remained heavily concentrated among Western computing and mobile clients. Handset manufacturers in Asia have spent three years attempting to bring proprietary silicon in-house to reduce their dependence on merchant chipmakers. Xiaomi’s commitment to custom designs manufactured on TSMC’s cutting-edge lithography mirrors earlier silicon strategies from rival hardware makers, though extending those designs into vehicle autonomy widens the operational scope.

    For consumer tech brands in Asia, controlling chip architecture allows tighter software integration across connected ecosystems, from living-room appliances to electric sedans. The arrangement secures advanced fabrication capacity for Xiaomi while providing TSMC with volume demand outside its core server and cloud computing base.

    Wafer volume targets

    Initial commercial success hinges on the manufacturing yield and delivery pace of the Xring O3 line during 2026. Market performance will depend on the speed at which Xiaomi ramps retail shipments of its 3nm handsets and incorporates the subsequent automotive silicon into its production vehicles.

  • Hong Kong Retail Sales Rise 4.5 per Cent to HK$31 Billion in July

    Hong Kong Retail Sales Rise 4.5 per Cent to HK$31 Billion in July

    Hong Kong retail sales climbed 4.5 per cent year-on-year in July to HK$31 billion ($3.95 billion), extending the city’s growth streak to 15 straight months.

    The result held steady against the revised 4.6 per cent increase recorded in June, bringing total retail sales expansion for the first seven months of the year to 8.9 per cent.

    Online purchases expanded faster than physical store traffic. E-commerce sales reached HK$2.8 billion in July, up 9.5 per cent from a year earlier, and represented 9.1 per cent of total retail turnover in the city.

    Jewellery and luxury goods lead gains

    High-value categories drove the bulk of the monthly expansion, according to figures released by the Census and Statistics Department. Sales of jewellery, watches and clocks jumped 19.7 per cent, while electrical appliances and consumer durables rose 11.5 per cent. Medicines and cosmetics gained 7.3 per cent.

    Everyday retail lines experienced much slower momentum. Department store commodities, optical shops, and alcoholic drinks and tobacco recorded uplifts ranging between 0.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent.

    Tourism events against external headwinds

    The sustained expansion points to firming domestic household incomes and stable employment across Hong Kong, even as store operators adjust to spending shifting online. The wide performance gap between luxury spikes and subdued department store receipts indicates local consumer sentiment remains selective outside tourist-heavy categories.

    City officials are counting on an upcoming lineup of mega-events to lift inbound visitor traffic through the rest of the year, while monitoring how evolving global economic headwinds affect local consumption.

  • Siem Reap Trade Fair Opens Commercial Pathways for Local Producers

    Siem Reap Trade Fair Opens Commercial Pathways for Local Producers

    A regional trade fair in Siem Reap opened commercial channels for provincial producers seeking access to wider consumer markets. The event connects makers of domestic goods directly with retailers, wholesalers and hospitality buyers across Cambodia.

    Producers presented packaged food, agricultural goods, textiles and handicrafts to commercial buyers seeking local inventory. Direct exhibition formats give regional enterprises access to store shelves and hospitality supply chains without intermediary distributor markups.

    Connecting Provincial Goods to Supermarket Shelves

    Organisers built the platform to address distribution bottlenecks that often keep provincial goods out of modern retail networks. Direct contact with procurement managers allows suppliers to negotiate order volumes, adjust packaging and meet quality standards required by national store chains.

    Similar trade exhibitions across secondary cities in Southeast Asia have helped regional craft and food producers secure stable supermarket listings. Modern grocery operators and hotel groups in Cambodia face persistent demand for verified local products from domestic shoppers and international visitors.

    Expanding Domestic Supply Chains

    Retail chains and hospitality buyers face higher logistics costs on imported packaged goods, accelerating demand for dependable domestic alternatives. Local suppliers use the exhibition platform to align barcoding, packaging durability and batch sizes with formal retail criteria.

    Participating vendors are now fulfilling wholesale orders secured during the event as provincial trade organisers prepare follow-up sourcing sessions for the coming retail quarters.

  • Robusta Coffee Climate Resilience Is a Flawed Myth, Study Warns

    Robusta Coffee Climate Resilience Is a Flawed Myth, Study Warns

    A new research study has challenged the widely held assumption that robusta coffee will withstand global warming better than arabica varieties. The crop suffers from severe drought intolerance, undermining its reputation as a climate-resilient alternative for global beverage supply chains.

    Tens of millions of bags of robusta reach international markets every year, with the bulk originating from farms in Vietnam and Brazil. Beverage brands and roasters have increasingly relied on the bean as rising temperatures squeeze traditional arabica harvests across Latin America and Africa.

    Flawed Assumptions on Crop Tolerance

    Researchers found that prior assessments overlooked how sensitive robusta plants are to water shortages during key growing cycles. The lead author described claims of broad climate resilience as an internet myth built on incomplete data.

    “Robusta is more heat-tolerant than arabica, but it’s drought-intolerant,” the study noted. While the variety can endure higher ambient temperatures, dry spells drastically cut yields, leaving commercial growers exposed to sudden harvest declines.

    Pressure on Asian Beverage Supply Chains

    For Southeast Asian agricultural hubs and instant-coffee processors, the findings point to growing volatility in raw bean procurement. Vietnam supplies the vast majority of global robusta exports, meaning prolonged dry weather in the Central Highlands directly disrupts margins for consumer packaged goods groups and cafe operators across Asia.

    Food and beverage manufacturers now face higher hedging costs and the need for heavier capital investment in farm irrigation systems to secure future robusta volumes.

  • Shein Shares Drop 8 per Cent in Hong Kong Debut

    Shein Shares Drop 8 per Cent in Hong Kong Debut

    Shares in Shein fell 8 per cent on their first day of Hong Kong trade on Tuesday, valuing the online fast-fashion retailer at roughly US$24 billion.

    The morning price of HK$44.60 represents a steep reset from the company’s peak valuation of nearly $100 billion in 2022. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 0.6 per cent over the same session.

    Shein turned to Hong Kong after regulatory pushback from Chinese authorities blocked earlier listing attempts in New York and London. The public offer sold about 6.6 per cent of the company’s enlarged share capital. Cornerstone investors took roughly one-fifth of the shares on offer, leaving just 5 per cent freely tradeable under a six-month lockup agreement.

    Valuation gap with regional rivals

    Investor appetite remained muted throughout the sale. The retail portion was subscribed 5.63 times and the international tranche 2.59 times, trailing the hundreds-fold subscriptions common in Hong Kong’s technology and robotics listings.

    Saxo market data shows Shein listed at 15 times forward earnings. That multiple is more than double the valuation of PDD Holdings, the owner of Temu, giving Shein a premium price tag despite heightened geopolitical friction and slower earnings visibility across major Western markets.

    RetailNews Asia notes that the muted debut reflects how quickly cross-border e-commerce economics deteriorated once Western customs loopholes vanished. For years, Chinese discount retailers expanded into the US and Europe by relying on tax exemptions for low-value parcels. Now that both jurisdictions levy duties on direct-shipped goods, margins across the entire ultra-fast fashion export sector are compressing simultaneously.

    Tariffs squeeze operating margins

    Policy changes in Shein’s largest markets dismantled its core cost advantage. The US repealed its duty exemption for packages under $800 last year, and the European Union instituted collection fees on small consumer shipments.

    Higher customs duties, tariffs and logistics expenses across Europe and the Middle East dragged Shein’s net income down 39 per cent last year, pushing the business into an operating loss in the first quarter. To compensate earlier venture backers who bought in at higher price points, Shein agreed to disburse $3.5 billion in cash payments and execute share adjustments for select preferred stockholders.

    Management has turned to acquisitions and marketplace fees to diversify revenue. The company purchased American clothing label Everlane in May, adding to earlier takeovers of British brand Missguided and French fashion label Pimkie.

    Attention now turns to Shein’s upcoming first-half financial report, where the company projected operating profit margins will fall below first-quarter levels.

  • Canadian Chip Startups Team up with Taiwan Foundries on Advanced Packaging

    Canadian Chip Startups Team up with Taiwan Foundries on Advanced Packaging

    Canadian semiconductor developers showed design automation and packaging technologies in Taipei, seeking integration with Taiwan’s high-volume manufacturing lines ahead of SEMICON Taiwan.

    The Canada-Taiwan Semiconductor Co-Creation Forum 2026 brought together specialized tech firms offering solutions for bottlenecks in artificial intelligence hardware, hybrid bonding and analog circuit layout.

    Targeting packaging bottlenecks

    Rather than funding domestic wafer fabrication plants, Canadian firms are positioning themselves upstream in research, design tools and specialized metrology. AsterQuanta presented an AI-driven platform that applies reinforcement learning to automate analog circuit design, a discipline that still depends heavily on manual engineering adjustments.

    Digitho introduced programmable photomask software designed to adjust lithography patterns dynamically based on placement offsets of chiplets during heterogeneous integration. The system aims to increase interconnect density by adapting exposure patterns directly on the substrate.

    Metrology and vacuum subsystems

    In quality control, ICSPI presented micro-scale atomic force microscopy systems built onto one-square-millimetre chips. Operating multiple AFM probes in parallel allows high-throughput, nanoscale surface measurement required for hybrid bonding and advanced copper pad inspection.

    Meaglow exhibited hollow-cathode plasma source reactors engineered to reduce oxygen contamination in thin-film nitride layers. Toronto-founded AI processor developer Tenstorrent, which established an operating unit in Taiwan last year, also outlined its RISC-V and neural network processor roadmap.

    For Asian foundries and packaging houses facing skilled engineering shortages and tighter hybrid bonding tolerances, adopting specialised toolsets from overseas research hubs provides immediate productivity gains without rebuilding core manufacturing infrastructure.

    The participating suppliers now face qualification trials to demonstrate throughput and defect-reduction targets on standard 300mm wafer production lines across Taiwanese contract manufacturers.

  • Alfamart Pushes Quick Commerce and Targets 100 Stores in Bangladesh

    Alfamart Pushes Quick Commerce and Targets 100 Stores in Bangladesh

    Indonesian minimart chain Alfamart is expanding its Alfagift delivery network and preparing a 100-store entry into Bangladesh to counter slowing domestic convenience store expansion.

    The Jakarta-based operator, PT Sumber Alfaria Trijaya, is turning to digital ordering and dedicated fulfillment hubs as traditional store density approaches saturation across its home market.

    Dark stores and digital ordering

    President Director Anggara Hans Prawira confirmed that the Alfagift mobile application and loyalty platform have become central to maintaining transaction volumes. Urban shoppers increasingly order household staples and groceries through the digital channel instead of visiting neighborhood brick-and-mortar checkouts.

    To support faster fulfillment, the company is integrating dark stores into its distribution setup. These dedicated micro-warehouses shorten delivery windows and relieve pressure on standard retail outlets in crowded metropolitan areas where finding viable new retail real estate has become harder.

    South Asian expansion

    Slowing domestic retail growth has also pushed Sumber Alfaria Trijaya to seek greenfield opportunities abroad, led by a planned 100-store rollout in Bangladesh. The move marks an aggressive geographic push outside Southeast Asia as domestic store growth tapers.

    Convenience operators across the Asia-Pacific region are confronting the same ceiling. Rapid physical rollouts that drove earnings for two decades across Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines now deliver tighter margins, forcing traditional grocers to fight app-based delivery services on speed while exporting their store models into emerging consumer markets.

    The retailer now faces the rollout of its initial 100 Bangladesh sites while testing how deeply quick commerce can defend its domestic basket sizes against dedicated delivery platforms.

  • Asia Air Cargo Rates Diverge as Transpacific Prices Surge 30 Percent

    Asia Air Cargo Rates Diverge as Transpacific Prices Surge 30 Percent

    Air cargo rates from China to the United States climbed 30 per cent year-on-year ahead of the peak shipping rush, driven by steady semiconductor and e-commerce shipments.

    By contrast, rates on the China-to-Europe corridor rose 12 per cent over the same period, slowed by the European Union ending its de minimis tax exemption on July 1.

    The price split reflects an uneven recovery across Asian export corridors. While air space out of Taiwan remains tight on artificial intelligence hardware, and outbound demand from South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore holds firm, outbound volumes from mainland China and Hong Kong have cooled. Pricing data from the TAC Index shows transpacific air freight maintaining a sharp premium, supported by technology shipments alongside higher jet fuel expenses caused by Persian Gulf shipping disruptions.

    Ground Bottlenecks and Route Shifts

    Airlines and forwarders face wide gaps in aircraft fill rates across the region. Dedicated freighter aircraft operate at roughly 65 per cent average load factors, compared with only 36 per cent for passenger aircraft belly hold space, according to IATA figures cited in the Journal of the Air Transport Research Society.

    Freight forwarder Dimerco Express Group noted that cross-border shippers altered transport modes to bypass tight air lanes, diverting freight between China, Vietnam and Thailand onto road networks and utilizing rail corridors into Europe. Early tariff front-loading by retail importers also pulled seasonal volumes forward into earlier quarters.

    Capacity limits on the ground often matter more than available aircraft. At regional transshipment hubs such as the Maldives’ Velana International Airport, which handled nearly 89,000 tonnes of cargo in 2025, warehouse throughput and labor deployment govern holiday processing speeds rather than runway slots.

    Shifting Asian Supply Chain Flows

    For consumer brands and electronics manufacturers across Asia, these fragmented lane dynamics mean freight procurement can no longer rely on broad regional averages. Shippers managing supply chains out of Taipei or Penang face sustained space premiums that do not match the softer spot rates available out of southern Chinese export hubs.

    Carriers are adjusting winter flight schedules to manage the uneven demand. Velana International Airport expects flight movements to rise 12 per cent during the 2026/27 winter schedule, supported by new scheduled freighter operations including Raya Airways’ weekly service from Penang.

  • Airbus Expands Indian Supply Chain with New A320 Work for Mahindra

    Airbus Expands Indian Supply Chain with New A320 Work for Mahindra

    Airbus expanded its manufacturing supply chain in India by awarding new A320 aircraft component work to Mahindra.

    The contract deepens the industrial partnership between the European aerospace manufacturer and the Indian conglomerate, adding production volume for the primary commercial passenger aircraft programme in the Airbus fleet.

    Expanded Aerostructures Work

    Under the agreement, Mahindra manufactures structural parts and assemblies for the Airbus A320 single-aisle programme. The components feed directly into the final assembly lines that Airbus operates across its global network.

    Local operations handle precision machining, sheet metal fabrication, and sub-assemblies. The expanded work strengthens domestic aerospace manufacturing capabilities across industrial facilities in India.

    Deepening Sourcing in India

    Airbus has broadened its supplier base across South Asia to support international delivery rates. Major commercial aircraft manufacturers continue to scale procurement contracts with Indian engineering and manufacturing firms to secure critical assembly inputs.

    Production under the expanded work package feeds into the global assembly schedule as Airbus works toward higher monthly output rates across its single-aisle line.

  • Philippine Mall Rents Reach P1,783 per Sqm as Retail Real Estate Leads Market

    Philippine Mall Rents Reach P1,783 per Sqm as Retail Real Estate Leads Market

    Philippine retail rents rose 1.4 percent year-on-year to 1,783 pesos per square meter a month in the second quarter of 2026, keeping prime shopping malls ahead of hotels and data centers.

    The property market absorbed 26,000 square meters of new space during the three-month period, according to JLL data, while quarter-on-quarter rents edged up 0.4 percent.

    Foot Traffic and Large Formats

    Physical mall visits remain the core driver of commercial retail space across the country. SM Supermalls logged 1.4 billion total visits in 2025, reaching 153 million in December when holiday crowds averaged 5.5 million visitors per weekend day and 4.6 million on weekdays.

    Operators continue to anchor their portfolios around these consumer flows. SM Mall of Asia spanned about 497,000 square meters of gross floor area by 2025, while competing networks from the Ayala group and grocery operators like Puregold hold steady tenant rosters in key commercial corridors.

    Supply Pipeline and Experiential Shift

    Across Southeast Asia, mall landlords have struggled with digital channel shifts, but Philippine operators have protected yields by converting floorplans toward dining, entertainment and social spaces. Cushman & Wakefield ranked retail ahead of hotels and data centers in the Philippine commercial real estate market in 2025, noting steady leasing demand from international brands entering prime locations.

    The sector faces an influx of new physical inventory before January, with developers scheduled to complete another 160,000 square meters of retail space by the end of 2026.