At one point, Filipinos took such great pride in SM Mall of Asia being so large of a mall that they thought it deserved to be one of the top places one has to see when exploring the Philippines. Not that it’s untrue, but this idea has been built up so much that we forgot SM City North EDSA, SM Megamall, and SM Seaside City Cebu exist.
Technically speaking, all four of them share the title of the largest SM malls in the Philippines in terms of gross floor area. Not to mention, there are branches of the shopping mall chain located outside the country that are just as impressive when we speak of the total property square footage.
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Where is the largest SM mall found?
According to SM Supermalls, the largest SM Supermall branch in the world is located in Quezon City, Philippines. And it’s none other than SM City North EDSA. Opened in November 1985, it has a gross floor area of more than 676,000 sqm. Now home to about a thousand retail and dining stores, it’s the flagship SM Supermall and the biggest SM mall in the Philippines.
Also considered some of the biggest shopping malls in the world in terms of gross floor area are: SM Megamall; SM Seaside City Cebu; and SM Mall of Asia. Both SM Megamall and SM Seaside City Cebu are likewise acclaimed for their exceptional designs. Each won Best Retail Architecture Design at a real estate awards program.
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Notable SM malls outside the Philippines
Aside from the ones in the Philippines, some SM malls overseas are also worthy of recognition. For one, SM City Tianjin is, as of writing, the fourth biggest SM mall worldwide by gross floor area. At 565,705 sqm, it’s about the size of over 70 football fields and is located in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, which is just next to Beijing.
SM City Tianjin is one of seven SM malls found in the Land of the Red Dragon. The other branches are SM City Jinjiang; SM City Chengdu; SM City Suzhou; SM City Chongqing and SM City Zibo. There’s also SM Xiamen Complex, whose SM Xiamen Lifestyle Center was the first Chinese branch of the Philippine lifestyle retail brand. It opened in 2001 as a full-scale mall with a Walmart supermarket, a department store, and other retail shops.
Aside from SM malls in China, the brand also has an overseas presence in the United States of America. SM Island Guam is located inside Agana Shopping Center in the U.S. island territory of Guam. The small shopping center is also owned by SM and first opened in 1978.
All images credited to SM Supermalls | Official Website
