A new Japanese-themed commercial center will impose on the towering Makati skyline as Hallohallo Inc. has joined forces with Mitsubishi and Ayala Corporation, via land developing firm Ayala Land, Inc. to build the structure on the top of the Glorietta complex.
According to the official press release, The 2,500 square meter complex will house different elements of Japan, including dining, entertainment and retail.
Hallohallo will serve as the point of contact for Japanese establishments to build their spaces in the proposed complex, which is currently under construction and is expected to be finished within the fourth quarter of 2017.
The planned complex will have two “faces”, day and night, which aims to give consumers a ‘new experience’ in dining, retail and entertainment.
Japanese company teamLab, inc. will operate the entertainment floor and will provide a venue for music and light shows, as well as upcoming performances by the Manila version of AKB48, named MNL48.
A store for official MNL48 goods, as well as official and licensed products that ‘have not yet been sold overseas’ will be available as well through Animate, the Japanese character goods shop, and @cosme, a Japanese cosmetics retailer.
This is the first time in almost two years that Hallohallo has made concrete their plans for a Japanese-themed commercial complex which up until now was up in the air.
In 2015, Anime Pilipinas interviewed Hallohallo Chief Operating Officer Maxim Beatty about the group’s plan to build a “Cool Japan Mall” somewhere in Metro Manila as a venue to showcase Japanese dining, retail and entertainment options, including a proposed MNL48 Theater and a stand-alone Animate store.
Currently, Hallohallo operates two Cool Japan Shops in Festival Supermall in Muntinlupa and SM Light Mall in Mandaluyong, plus a job portal, an online store, directory service and Ryo Aki Taxi.
The Mitsubishi and Ayala joint venture, meanwhile, has spanned for more than 40 years and spans different investments such as energy and infrastructure development, among other investments.
