De Ayala’s curious mind

Market research: Set to open by the last quarter of this year, Ayala Malls Gatewalk is anchored by the first Ikea store in Cebu. — Photos: PDI/ANN

LONG before Mariana Zobel de Ayala had to think about tenant mixes, parking flows, lighting levels or the next big global brand to bring to the Philippines, she knew Ayala’s malls the way many Filipinos did: by the memories she made in them.

In an exclusive interview with Inquirer Property, the eighth-generation Zobel scion recalls practically growing up in Glorietta, where Glico’s was part of her childhood and where her mother was a tenant.