THE SM Supermalls kicked off its 60th anniversary celebration with a bang this month when it lighted up its Mall of Asia globe last May 21.
Here in Mindanao, the celebration was held at the SM Lanang Premier, Davao City with the staging of the #AweSM Weekend Party, a fashion show featuring 60 fashionable Dabawenyos bannered by Presidential Daughter Kitty Duterte and Mutya ng Dabaw 2018 Shelah Faye Juntilla.
The show also featured SM Men ambassador Hideo Muraoka and SM Youth ambassadors, the Perkins twins.
SM Lanang Premier's activity center was turned into a balloon wonderland with splashes of pastel blue, pink, and white, giving it a cute and bubbly aesthetic.
Davao's budding models, from kids to young adults, wore clothes from some of the leading clothing brands that are present at the SM Malls like Uniqlo, American Eagle, Forme, and Oxygen, among others.
At the beginning of the show Jozelle Tacsanan, Shaira Rica Opsima, and Julia Mica Serad, some of Davao City's talented performers, serenaded the audiences and mall goers.
By the end of the fashion show, the Perkins twins, Jesse and Christian, also performed a few songs.
At the end of the #AweSM Weekend Party, the guests were treated to a game using the QR scanners of their phones.
The celebration not only marks SM's 60th anniversary but also how it has evolved from its humble beginnings as Shoemart, a shoe store chain founded by Henry Sy, Sr. in 1958, to a SM, the country's major shopping center with 70 malls in the Philippines and seven in China.
From retail, the company has also expanded its ventures into real estate with SM Prime Holdings; tourism with SM Hotels and Conventions; and finance with Banco de Oro.
The company is also giving back to the community through its SM Foundation. Under its foundation, the mall reaches out to the communities with its educational, health, and livelihood programs aimed at making farmers self-sufficient. Meanwhile, through SM Cares, the company undertakes environmental programs.
Since its founding in 1958, the mall has come a long way. From a humble shoe store to a major shopping center chain offering quality brands and at the same time contributing to the community.
Congratulations SM!