DAVAO CITY—A leading chain of shopping malls and superstores in southern Philippines is sounding upbeat as it enters its 40th year of business presence, which includes a footing in resort Palawan.
The New City Commercial Center Group of Cos. (NCCC) held its modest anniversary gathering on September 15 at the newest mall in uptown Buhangin here. It said its biggest mall to come out from the ashes of the controversial fire in December 2017 would bring back its lost clients in the south of the city.
The festive mood would last until the end of the year where a supermarket hub south of downtown will be opened by January to initially cater to the south of the city, where the bulk of 1.7 million residents are residing.
It will be named NCCC Retail Hub and will have a supermarket section, along with the Health and Beauty 1 (HB1) pharmacy, the food court and the tenants’ stores and stalls.
The NCCC has offered a Toyota Hilux pickup, home appliance showcase, 40 pedicabs—locally called padyak—gift certificates and discounts in all its stores throughout the rest of the year.
Alongside the festivities is a market study to determine the needs and behavior of the untapped market in the region where its stores are operating.
The NCCC market survey on the communities will be conducted by the fourth quarter of this year, and it will be separate from its regular monthly surveys done with regular customers, mainly sari-sari store owners, according to Janna Mutalib, head of the branding and events of the NCCC Group.
She said the community survey would be a needs assessment survey, a separate undertaking from its monthly surveys with its “Ka-Negosyo” clients of sari-sari store owners.
The community survey would update a similar survey it did five years ago, she said.
The NCCC operates 20 superstores, 25 Choice marts and 50 HB1 pharmacy stores in the Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental and Puerto Princesa.