Wednesday, May 07, 2008 Neri: A decade of Ayala malls merchant rewards program By Nelia G. Neri Eve
IT has been 10 years now since the Ayala Malls began its Merchant Rewards Program, and thus provided the impetus and encouragement to their locators to excel in innovativeness, management and marketing strategies.
The annual recognition has definitely spawned the growth of the establishments in the different Ayala Malls because of the standards it has set and the corresponding challenges thrown in.
For so many years, the Awards Night was held at the refreshing outdoor setting of Greenbelt Park. This year however, the affair took place at The Gallery on the second floor of the spanking new and thoroughly modern Greenbelt 5. It was a different atmosphere altogether but the ebullient mood was the same.
The evening celebration began with cocktails prepared by Makati Shangri-La.
Very much around were Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala and his petite wife Katherine; ALI president and CEO Jim Ayala; Cebu Holdings president Francis Monera, and other executives of the Ayala Malls group.
Proudly in the Winners’ Circle (a new addition to this year’s awardees composed of an elite group of merchants who have proven their excellence in the retail business) was Penshoppe, the retail store which had its origins in Cebu with Bernie Liu as founder. Completing the list were Bayo, Folded and Hung, Kamiseta and Bench.
Store of the Year for Ayala Center Cebu was the Store Specialists Inc.’s Lacoste Apparel along Paseo Cuidad at the ground level. Another awardee in the same area was Florsheim who got the Overall Marketing Excellence citation.
Rustan’s Cebu, a consistent winner in the Visual Merchandising category was elevated to the Hall of Fame. A new-comer to watch at Ayala Center Cebu is the craft and furniture shop called Seeds. It bagged the Most Promising Retailer Award.
Making their mark for Store Operations Excellence were Mark and Spencer, Adidas, Artwork, Lacoste Footwear and CMG.
Program hosts were TV personality David Celdran and former Miss Cebu Tourism Menchu Antigua. For entertainment, there was the acapella singing group known as The Company who sang the Ayala Malls jingle, followed by multi-awarded singer Jed Madela.
