CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — SM Prime Holdings has started opening upscale shops in its mall here, following the recommendations of a market study conducted last year. Early this month, Miss Couture, an international label handled by the shopping mall operator, opened its doors at the SM City Cagayan de Oro, targeting Northern Mindanao’s upper middle- to high-income markets.

SM City Cagayan de Oro officials earlier told BusinessWorld a market study, with mostly women shoppers as respondents, indicated that upscale shops not found in competing shopping malls should open in the local SM complex. This pushed the SM mall arm to pursue a program for new shops that would offer items targeting upper-income consumers.

Sonia Fernandez, Miss Couture senior store operations manager, said her group is expecting the local shop to perform well in terms of sales since this city is fast becoming a highly developed urban center. ‘People here are fashionable and we found in our study that the local market would like to have more options on expensive and luxury brands,’ Ms. Fernandez told BusinessWorld.

Miss Couture started operating in the country in April last year. It already has seven stalls inside department stores in SM malls all over the country. ‘This is the first opening of a mall shop separated from the department store to accommodate the local market,’ said Ms. Fernandez.

Last month, the seventh Adidas franchise store of Sports Central, also an affiliate of SM, opened at this city’s SM mall. Rodel Mercado, Sports Central senior marketing manager, said the company’s decision to establish a shop in Cagayan de Oro was influenced by the increasing sales of Adidas products in local outlets, notwithstanding reports of retrenchments and economic slowdown elsewhere.

With more top brand shops opening in the city, accessibility is easier for residents as well as nearby visitors from the cities of Iligan in Lanao del Norte, Butuan in Agusan del Norte, and Valencia and Malaybalay in Bukidnon.

Lynnible Chan, a self-confessed luxury brand shopper, said shoppers in the city would certainly welcome the opening of another upscale shop.

‘When I heard Miss Couture will open here, I thought I don’t have to purchase online anymore and pay double because of shipping charges, or pay much more by going to Manila just to buy a new designer bag or other imported items,’ said Ms. Chan.

SM City Cagayan de Oro wants to attract 40,000 people everyday. Last year, the shopping mall was attracting less than 30,000 shoppers on a daily basis.

Compared with other locations, SM City Cagayan de Oro has been experiencing steep competition from homegrown but equally big shopping malls that are popular among residents.

The Limketkai Group, operator of the largest retail complex in Mindanao with over 200,000 square meters of shopping space, is developing a central business district complete with hotels, hospitals and other major business structures, near the city’s old business section.