Last October, SM launched the SM StartUp Package, which aims to provide small online businesses with valuable support they need so they can set up their own shop in an SM mall. This is currently available to the first 100 digital-based MSME owners who currently don’t have a shop inside SM or any other physical store in general.
The package offers features such as start-up friendly rental rates and use of kiosks or carts free of charge, marketing assistance for free exposure in SM online assets and ad spaces inside malls, financial assistance with BDO, and mentorship from SM experts on operations and marketing.
The StartUp Markets, as they will be called, will be situated in prime mall locations within 13 regional and premier malls in major cities: SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Southmall, SM Pampanga, SM Clark, SM Grand Central, SM Sta. Rosa, SM City Cebu, SM Iloilo, SM Bacolod, SM CDO Downtown Premier, and SM Lanang Premier.
Following Tatang’s legacy
The late founder Mr. Henry Sy is also proof of an entrepreneur’s resilience and hard work. After arriving in the Philippines at just 12 years old from China, he helped sell products in his father’s retail store. When he saved enough money, he was able to open his first business in 1958: a footwear shop called ShoeMart, which would become the foundation for today’s 77 SM Supermalls.
The success of the mall didn’t come without challenges. A notable one was when Mr. Sy opened SM Megamall in Edsa in 1995 during a turbulent time in the Philippines. Instead of being discouraged by the political and economic climate, it instead pushed him to work harder to overcome the crisis. This disposition would carry over in the next few decades and inspire a new generation of MSME owners to look for opportunities even during hard times.
This is evident in the stories of entrepreneurs like Chizmozza founder Hannah Ramos, who sold her own mozzarella recipe online before opening her food cart at SM, Ian Darcy, who started his namesake fragrance brand after being forced to resign from his marketing job, and Oishii Maki chef Ramon Molina, who started a sushi and maki business at SM after working as a Japanese food chef in 5-star hotels overseas.
“I took a chance to grow Chizmozza from an online store to having one humble food cart in SM North Edsa back in 2016. Now Chizmozza has 21 SM branches. They saw the potential of our unique cheese products and through our mutual hard work and
perseverance, we grew, even through the pandemic.”
– Hannah Ramos of ChizMozza
These are just some of the stories behind successful MSME owners and how they were able to succeed with the right resources. The SM StartUp Package will allow more people to level up their online start-up, inspiring them to follow in Tatang’s footsteps.
For more information, visit www.smsupermalls.com or follow @smsupermalls on all social media accounts to find out how to sign up for The SM StartUp Package.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
