2nd SM mall in city opens today

THE Sy-led SM Prime formally opens today, Friday, its 46th shopping center in the country, with a promise to bring definitive shopping experience of a premier mall.

Called the SM Lanang Premier, it is the fourth SM mall in Mindanao and the second in Davao City. It is touted as SM Prime's biggest and first-of-its-kind premier mall development project in Mindanao.

The mall's grand opening on Thursday, attended by guests, suppliers and the media, was graced by Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Hans Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings, who led the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon.

Friday's formal opening will also be led by Sy and City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

As a premier mall, the fifth of its kind in the country, SM Lanang boasts of "modern structure and cutting edge design upscale retail mix, dining concepts and world class entertainment and convention facilities."

SM Lanang is seen as major development in the city as it also expected to boost the city's bid to become a major Mice (meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) destination in the country. The mall houses the SMX Convention Center, the biggest of its kind in Mindanao and located on the third floor of the mall, that can accommodate more than 5,000 people.

Strategically located in a 10-hectare property on JP Laurel Avenue in Lanang, the 145,000-square meter mall is expected to serve customers in the northern part of the city.

"It will also bring premier shopping, leisure and entertainment experience to residents in neighboring cities of Panabo, Tagum, Igacos and Mati and the provinces of Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental," said a statement released by SM Prime on Thursday.

The four-storey mall offers a world of shopping convenience with its main anchors, the SM store and SM Supermarket, as well as SM mainstays, including SM Appliance Center, Watsons, ACE Hardware, Our Home, and Kultura.

Global brands like Forever 21, as well as flagship stores of major national brands add to the shopping excitement. The Cyberzone, the ultimate tech and IT lifestyle center of the SM malls completes the shopping picture.

Eating out at SM Lanang Premier literally brings the dining experience to a higher level. The Flat Cafe designed on top of a free-standing slab offers a 360-degree view of the monumental atrium.

There is also the Skygarden, and the fountain court, a two level strip of causal of fine dining restaurants with a spectacular view of the 122 fountain meter musical fountain, the first of its kind in Mindanao and the longest in the country.

SM Lanang Premier also redefines leisure and entertainment with the first iMax cinema in Mindanao, aside from five state of the art digital cinemas and a live theater cinema. It will also have an SMX Convention Center, a Bowling Center, and a hotel, the Park Inn Radisson.

For customer convenience, SM Lanang Premier has 1,535 parking lots with park finders in the indoor parking slots.