Pabili Po: the political economy of retail in Angeles City

Abstract

The study primarily aimed to answer whether or not the opening of foreign-owned large-scale malls has an effect on existing sari-sari stores and the community. The study focused on two malls in the city, one is the Sy-owned SM City Telabastagan which opened May 2018 and the other is the older Ayala-owned Marquee Mall which opened September 2009.The on-field data was gathered via two surveys, wherein the respondents of the first survey were sari-sari store owners and/or vendors located within a 1km radius or a 10-minute walk from the malls, and the respondent of the second survey were students from a school located within the same radius. The study concluded that regardless of the expected negative effect of the mall's opening to the sari-sari stores, the stores' ability to adapt and difference in market resulted in minimal impact.