Dreams Can Be Realized
Update 1/24/08
To get more of SM Shoemart or Henry Sy, please visit these channels:
“Hope is the dream of a man awake“.
Thus commented by Alex in my post A New Breed Of Rebels .
Dream… it’s free… anyone can dream… but only a few can make their dreams a reality.
On May 20th 2006, I’m a witness to the realization of one of the dreams of a visionary, Mr. Henry Sy Sr. Tagged as one of the richest man in the world and shopping mall magnate in the Philippines.
‘Twas the soft opening of Mall of Asia, the dream of a man who was once a poor boy who moved to the Philippines from China when he was 13 years old, hoping for better life. His hope was rocked by the onset of world war 2. But this did not affect him from pursuing his dream, he believed that there is opportunity from every tragedy–
After the war, he started selling shoes along the streets of Azcarraga (CM Recto) and soon he got an opportunity to have a shoe store along Avenida Rizal in 1958.
The Shoe Store expanded and have several outlets and became a soft goods Department Store in 1972, the year martial law was declared. 3 years after, it became a full line dept. store– made known as SM ShoeMart, We’ve Got It All For You!
In the 80′s, when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated, and the Phils. is rocked by political and economic crisis, SM ventured into another unknown and spearheaded the “malling phenomena” — The birth of the first SM Mall (though not the first mall in the Philippines), SM City North EDSA. Taunted and predicted to fail, SM City became and still one of the strongest SM Mall in terms of foot traffic and revenues.
Again, when the Philippines is in the midst of another crisis brought by high fuel prices and political problems, SM opened Mall of Asia. Undaunted by negative publicity, it was inaugurated on May 20, 2006 and opens its doors to the public on May 21, 2006.
Mall Of Asia, being the 25th SM Mall is envisioned to be a tourist destination as it boasts of showcasing the Philippines best with its world class facilities and products. The Mall of Asia is home to some 1st’s in the Philippines–
- The first “Olympic size” Ice Skating Rink.
- The first IMAX Theatre in the Philippines but holds the distinction of having the largest screen (8 story high) in the world.
- The first Mall overlooking the famous Manila Bay sunset.
- The first Mall equipped with golf cars, Jeeps and trolleys to help customers move around the mall.
From the press releases I read, soon construction will also start for the trade and convention center that will rival PICC, an sports arena that will rival Araneta Coliseum, a state of the art planetarium, hotels and residential condo will also be built.
With the soft opening and inauguration,
No less than the President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapacal-Arroyo, graced the ceremonial ribbon cutting. She was later wowed by the IMAX experience.
The other dignitaries who graced the occasion came from the business community, foreign embassy representatives, local and national leaders.
I am privileged to see in action Filipino IceSakaters, who brought glory to the nation by winning in international competition, beating western countries though we are a tropical nation. See the snap shots here.
I can’t find a word yet that bests describe the IMAX experience. It’s best if you’ll try it yourself. Entrance fees are very reasonable. Depending on the film, the lowest is P 150 ( less than USD 3) and max is P 250 (less than USD 5).
I have not visited the entire mall yet. But the architecture and design is elegant and non traditional.
Indeed, the life of Mr. Henry Sy Sr. and his family is a story of success brought by hard work, smart spending, persistence, determination and courage. While all people have dreamed, not all have made it a reality. We can take the cue and make our dreams a reality too.
With Mall Of Asia around, it hopes to bring the “world” to Filipinos and add value to the to the world.
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
initial pics here.
more pics here.
To get more of SM Supermalls or have a glimpse of the life principles of Henry Sy, please visit these channels:
14 Responses to “Dreams Can Be Realized”
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[...] Last Saturday, though it’s my rest day, we graced the opening of “The Block”, the new shopping complex inside SM City North EDSA. For readers outside the Philippines, SM City is the first shopping mall of Mr. Henry Sy Sr.that opened in 1986. And because of its success, the malling landscape in the Philippines changed . Mall of Asia is SM’s 25th Mall– the mall that hopes to showcase the Philippines best to the world. [...]
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Dreams Can Be Realized…
sesantos.com.ph
“Hope is the dream of a man awake“.Thus commented by Alex in my post A New Breed Of Rebels .
Dream… it’s free… anyone can dream… but only a few can make their dreams a reality.
On May 20th … -
[...] Mr. Henry Sy Sr., is one of the tycoons in the Philippines builder of the famous SM Mall Of Asia. His SM Group is dominant in the Retail, Leisure, Shopping Mall and Bank industry. [...]
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[...] one favorited by Fred Lim, but the sprouting San Miguel By The Bay (SMBB) at the shoreline along SM Mall of Asia. The new gig site on [...]
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[...] because the successes of both Henry Sy Sr. and John Gokengwei Jr. are founded on hard work, i.e. rags to riches story, their lives has been the [...]
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[...] This is a top view of the Jobs Fair held at one of SM Supermalls in the Philippines. A similar jobs fair is held simultaneously to all SM Malls nationwide, including the world’s 3rd largest Mall, SM Mall Of Asia. [...]
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[...] Singapore. The noted pluses were (1) Conversant in English, (2) the Philippines as home to the 3rd (Mall of Asia), 7th (Megamall) and 11th (SM CIty Cebu) largest mall in the world, (4) Sale or not sale, price is [...]
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[...] got the chance to attend the independence day flag raising event at SM Mall of Asia. A short but meaningful ceremony, a great reminder to thank the Philippines for the respect for [...]
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[...] Manila’s entertainment area. Am not sure if the the Southern Police District have theirs at SM Mall Of Asia, or the other districts have their own gig [...]
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[...] was another blogger party at SM Mall Of Asia’s Taste [...]
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[...] your Way at BK” event was co-sponsored by Yehey! I chose to visit the BK outlet at SM Mall of Asia and brought wifey and 2 [...]
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soon i will be the same as you are mr. sy
i really admire Mr. Sy for lots of his achievement specially all sm branches, particularly MOA, But, i had a very bad experience when i went there last wednesday April 8, 2009, i bought 2 pairs of shoes and it really took time for me to choose which would fit on me and which would i like, i am from batangas city and i was with my bf during that time because we had our visita iglesia. after we paid we went out and ate in Henlin, we left he place after we finished our food, when we were in the bus we found out that i lost the plastic with the 2 boxes of shoes, so we rushed and went back to MOA we asked the sales lady in Henlin if they found plastic with shoes they said none, and there was a lady beside me during that time also eating in henlin. it much better if i lost money, rather than the shoes, the fact that i am so excited to wear those shoes and now they gone. ) ;
very good job Mr. Sy….