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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Eagle Rock's Mall of Manila



The L.A. Times finally finally picks up on the mainstream Eagle Rock Plaza's move to target the large Filipino community in the area -- something we've written about several times, including this post last year.

But the story doesn't dive in deep enough to describe the scope of the transformation -- no mention, for example, of Bench, a Gap-style clothing chain from the Philippines that filled a void at the mall; nor does it get into the long lines Jollibee created when it first opened -- or the fact that Chow King, a Chinese-oriented Filipino fast food joint, recently opened across the way.

Also the story doesn't discuss the mall's recent ownership change -- Westfield sold the shopping center last year to Pennsylvania-based Centro Watt. I would have loved to hear more from the mall owners about this unique strategy, and how they're managing to save what was a dying mall. The reporter does touch on the unusual juxtaposition of a mainstream mall -- with big anchors like Target and Macy's -- carrying so many chains that target a specific ethnic group. The fact that I can pick up items at Target, then share a halo-halo with Evan at Chow King (and snacks at Seafood City), is pretty cool.

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