Ayala Corporation should work out an
agreeable arrangement with its partners in the LRT Extension project to
leverage its core competence in real estate development and retail
management.
The undertaking is rich in prospects to
strengthen Ayala Land's brand equity and expand its market reach further down
the value pyramid through high quality mass market retail concepts.
It also has the potential to fuel progress
in the architectural community by soliciting designs that reflect Filipino moderne, the Philippines' here
and now as shaped by its rich historical and cultural heritage.
Because the project will span a diverse
geography, Ayala could engage the communities that it expects to serve in
different ways. Among others, it could identify financially healthy, viable and
unique local business concepts that could be given fiscal and management
assistance to take up retail space in the LRT stations. Of particular interest
should be food concessionaires because most commuters have little time to spare
going to and from their destinations that a quick bite could be welcome to
them.
Further along the development timeline,
these terminals could eventually be developed into retail and dining havens
themselves, which reflect the Ayala brand of high quality and well-designed
establishments, but with a lower spending market in mind. This should serve as
a challenge to the company: to edify but at the same time engage markets it has
not traditionally served with offerings that reflect local flavour, but at the
same time adopt world class standards.
The purpose for such should be two pronged:
one is to fill the gaps in the services and goods that cater to the markets in
the locales of the train terminals; and two, to elevate and inform tastes as it
does the former.
As with any new venture, it is always
prudent to undertake market research to get at least basic information about
the markets it aims to serve. The take-off point for development should be a compromise
among what already exists, the gaps in the market, and where the company wants
to take this market in the mid-term and long term future.
What
excites me the most about this project is the prospect of promoting all things
Filipino to Filipinos themselves to inculcate in patrons a sense of national
identity, and pride in their patriotism. Architecture and interior design are wonderful tools for achieving such.
Always build with the end in mind, that you want your terminals and
developments to be future heritage sites, a place where current and future
generations can come back to ten, twenty years from now, to catch a glimpse of
the social sentiments of the current times.
Retail concepts could reinforce such, these
terminals could even serve as tourist destinations themselves. The efficiency
of travel in a train, married with the rich cultural and historical heritage as
reflected in architecture, design, and retail and dining concepts are as good a
way as any to see this country.
As traffic grows and the company realises
ROI, it could give back by staging mini shows and roving "Philippine
Patrol" in the stations, who promote Filipino consciousness among domestic
and international visitors alike.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment