An artist's rendition of the Philippines' first Mitsukoshi mall.
MANILA -- The first Mitsukoshi mall in the Philippines will finally open this year.
Federal Land president and chief operating officer Tom Mirasol made the statement in a recent virtual media briefing for the launch of Aki Tower, the third tower of the company's The Seasons Residences.
Mitsukoshi serves as the base of The Seasons Residences, Federal Land's high-end condominium project that showcases Japanese design elements, in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
"We are opening the country's first Mitsukoshi mall this year... I hope you can all join us in the upcoming launch of Mitsukoshi on the fourth quarter of this year," Mirasol said.
"Mitsukoshi will carry a well-curated selection of shops, a supermarket, a food hall, and highlight the Japanese way of polite service known as omotenashi," he added.
An artist's rendition of The Guest House, a unique amenity of The Seasons Residences inspired by traditional Japanese architecture.
The first Mitsukoshi mall in the Philippines will have four themed floors. Momoko Umemura, manager for overseas business promotions at Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., said the concept of the new property is "next Manila lifestyle."
Similar to department stores in Japan, the basement of the new Mitsukoshi will be dedicated to food, where customers can dine and shop for groceries and gifts.
Also on this floor is Mitsukoshi Fresh, a premium supermarket to be jointly operated by Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings and Federal Land.
"Mitsukoshi Fresh will offer a multi-sensory shopping experience by specializing in freshness and quality, as well as [by] bringing in Japanese products and local masterpieces," Umemura said. "In the supermarket, we plan to have all kinds of food selected from Japan."
Food lovers can also look forward to other concepts, such as a food hall and an alley of sweets and baked items, in a "casual but elegant setting."
An artist's rendition of Mitsukoshi's food hall.
The rest of the Mitsukoshi mall in Taguig will include beauty and fashion items at the ground floor, a "lifestyle floor curated with Japanese cultures" on the second floor, and an "entertainment floor where children and adults can all enjoy" on the third floor.
According to Umemura, they tried to create an open layout for the property for a more relaxed shopping experience.
"Our interior design is also very original. We tried to take away walls as much as possible to create an open view of the whole facility. Through this design, customers would not feel the stress in finding and entering each of the tenant stores," she said.
"The design changes by area, and each area has a Japanese motif," she added. "For the food court, we used the image of a Japanese cellar to produce a cozy environment."