Buying gifts for our loved ones is hard enough, but buying gifts for the “Very Important Persons” (VIPs) in our life is a whole new level of difficulty. These VIPs can range from our bosses to our clients who may have finer tastes in life, and so giving them a gift can be a bit of a challenge.
To give you a head start, here are a few malls you can visit that will surely delight the people you treat as VIPs. Invest a little on your gifts and be on these VIPs’ good graces for the following year.
1. Duty Free
Where:Various branches
Not just for ‘pasalubong,’ Duty Free can also be a great source of gifts for VIPs. (Images: L, Nathaniel Bautista; R, Katkat Delmendo)
Duty Free shops are arguably famous to us Filipinos for one thing alone: pasalubong (souvenir). Whenever one relative from abroad is coming home, there’s always a Duty Free bag filled with chocolate goodies we’re excited to munch on. But aside from being a great place to shop for souvenirs, Duty Free also carries international brands that range from chocolate, liquors and wines, to even supermarket items like imported brands of canned goods, coffee, and snacks that can be great gifts to your clients.
Some of the items they carry include Anthon Berg, Godiva, and Lindt chocolates. They also have perfume brands that include Dolce and Gabanna and Olympea, to name a few.
S&R is filled with food and non-food items that your bosses might appreciate as gifts. (Images: L, @ca.p_; R, Micah Jearamille Salvacion)
You may need a membership for this one, but another great place for scoring gifts for your bosses is S&R . The warehouse store has become a huge hit for Filipinos who are looking for international brands that are not readily available here in the country. It’s also worthy to mention the huge product sizes they offer that we don’t usually see in our local supermarkets.
For gift ideas, S&R offers food and non-food items that you can give this Christmas. They carry brands like Folgers and Nutella for food, and Aveeno and Dial for non-food items. For wines and spirits, they also have brands like Jose Cuervo and Johnnie Walker.
Rustan’s Corporate Gifts service might be able to help you with your gift woes. (Image: L, @che_8_nicole; R, Rustan’s FB)
Rustan’s has been one of the most well-known upscale department stores in the country and its line of items makes incredible gifts for the VIPs you know. But more than the brands it carries, the services that Rustan’s offers can also make the gifts that you purchase extra special.
Select Rustan’s stores offer Floral Gifts where you can buy bouquets of flowers as a gift of appreciation to your bosses. They also offer the service Rustan’s Corporate Gifts to help you pick gifts suited for clients, bosses, and colleagues. You can also take advantage of monogramming and engraving services in select Rustan’s stores to make your gifts more personal.
From accessories to gadgets, Glorietta is filled with stores to help with gift shopping. (Image: Glorietta’s Facebook Page)
If you’re a resident of Makati, chances are you’re a frequent visitor of Glorietta. Glorietta has been a staple in Makati with its wide range of stores; it’s so huge it needed five buildings (Glorietta 1 to 5) just to accommodate every shopper’s needs. From fine dining spots to treat your clients to or high-end stores to buy gifts from, Glorietta has plenty of options for you.
Some of the brands you can find at Glorietta include Armani Exchange, Perry Ellis, L’Occitane en Provence, and Laura Mercier, to name a few. The mall also contains a branch of Rustan’s that also offers its own high-end line of products.
5. Power Plant Mall
Where:Lopez Drive, Makati City
Power Plant Mall is only four storeys high, but it is packed with great brands. (Image: L, Maria Liza Sevidal; R, Power Plant Mall FB)
Another Makati staple is Power Plant Mall. Originally a thermal plant owned by the Lopez family, the establishment was hit by fire and was refused by the nearby residents to be reopened. The Lopez family then decided to have it renovated into a mall instead and has since become one of the favorite shopping spots of Makati residents since 2000.
Despite being only four storeys high, Power Plant Mall houses designer brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and Kenneth Cole, to name a few. Aside from these fancy stores, you’ll also find a branch of Marketplace by Rustan’s that offers imported goodies and fine wines that can also be great presents.
Wine and dine with your VIPs at Uptown Mall’s huge restaurant selection. (Image: Uptown Mall’s Facebook Page)
Located in hip and fancy Bonifacio Global City, Uptown Mall is among the newest projects of Megaworld Development Corporation. It has become a favorite for foodies with its long line of restaurants, some of it making Uptown Mall their first home in the Philippines.
If you and your clients or bosses are fond of bonding over food, some of the international restaurants you can try include Denny’s, Morganfield’s, and Ippudo. For gifts, they also have specialty stores like Design Story, Herschel, and Typo.
7. Shangri-La Plaza
Where:Shangri-La Plaza Corporation EDSA corner Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City
Wine is always a nice VIP gift and Shangri-La has plenty of stores to help you in buying an excellent one. (Image: Kirsten Lopez)
An oldie but trusted one is Shangri-La Plaza. The go-to place for luxury and upscale stores, Shang, as fondly called by its regular visitors, has been in operation since 1991. It has now grown to include over 300 stores and restaurants that consist of both international and local names.
For your VIPs who love wine, Shang houses Wine Story, Titania Wine Cellar, and a branch of Marketplace by Rustan’s to give you countless wine options. If you’re looking for international brands for gifts, some of the brands they carry include Cole Haan, Jimmy Choo, and Kenneth Cole.
From high-end brands to specialty products and wines, you can find the perfect gift for the VIPs in your life in any of these stores. Let us know in the comments section which of these malls you will visit first.
About Patricia Marie Prado
Patricia came from the field of business and accounting but is now pursuing her dreams of being a writer. She is a self-confessed introvert and is passionate about reading, travelling, writing, movies, coffee and God. When she's not writing, she loves discovering new coffee shops/cafe and doing TV-series marathons.
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