Ever Gotesco Malls

Ever Gotesco Malls

Type	Shopping malls
Industry	Retail industry
Founded	C.M. Recto Ave., Manila, Philippines (1972)
Headquarters	C.M. Recto Ave., Sta. Cruz, Manila, Philippines
Number of locations	4 Branches (as of January 2013)
Area served	Metro Manila
Key people	Jose Go (Founder and CEO)
Website	Ever Gotesco Malls Facebook Page

Ever Gotesco Malls Group of Companies under the trade name Ever Gotesco Malls is one of the largest shopping malls and retail operator in Metro Manila. It was incorporated on 1972 by Chinese Filipino entrepreneur Jose Go. to develop, conduct, operate and maintain the Ever Gotesco commercial shopping centers such as the lease of commercial spaces within the compound of shopping centers. The main competitors are: Isetann Department Store, Gaisano, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, Walter Mart Malls, Ortigas Malls, Starmall, Robinsons Malls, SM Prime Holdings and Ayala Malls. It has 4 branches as of January 2013.

History

Ever Gotesco Malls Group of Companies launched in 1972^[1] by Jose Go, age 24 when he opened the five-story Ever Emporium on C.M. Recto Ave. in Downtown Manila.

But the declaration of martial law ended the rallies and initially boosted the economy as prices of commodities were kept in check. Go took advantage of the low-priced merchandise and introduced the concept of one-stop shopping. His store sold low-priced goods to thousands of low-income students who survived on small allowances. The volumes made up for the thin margins.

By 1975, Go had made Ever Emporium a popular retail name. From Recto, he expanded to Caloocan City, where he built the $6-million, 40,000-square meter Ever Gotesco mall that lured the low- to middle-income residents of the populous city to shop in droves.

With two major shopping malls in the capital and two more elsewhere, Go formed Ever Gotesco Resources and Holdings (EGRH) in 1996. An initial public offering (IPO) that year gave him enough ammunition to expand into uncharted territory.

EGRH acquired a struggling, publicly listed mining company called Suricon that was later renamed Gotesco Land. He also invested in a housing project in Bulacan and a hot springs resort in Laguna. He bought a small bank that later became his biggest headache, a golf course in Tagaytay, and 20 percent of a paging company.

His goal then was ambitious: to build a $2-billion retail-and-property conglomerate that churns out $350 million a year. The Asian financial crisis, however, caught him aggressively expanding into other businesses using borrowed dollars. The crisis doubled his debts and forced him to tap into the deposits of his wholly owned Orient Commercial Banking Corp.

The bank went down in history as the first victim of the Asian crisis when it closed on Valentine's Day, 1998. Until now, Go is still fighting the foreclosure of his assets by the central bank, which lent over P8 billion to Orient Bank. He is also facing multibillion-peso lawsuits and all his properties have been garnished by the courts.

On March 17, 2012 Ever Gotesco Grand Central Mall in Caloocan burns down more than 20 Hours. The mall closed down after fire was under control.

Branches

Gallery

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  Ever Department Store

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  The Manila Plaza

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  The Manila Plaza

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  Ever Ortigas

References

External links

• Ever Gotesco Malls. Official Facebook Page
• Ever Gotesco Malls. Official Twitter Page