The roots of SM date back to the 1950s when entrepreneur Henry Sy, Sr. established a shoe store in Carriedo.

His aggressive and adamant strategy helped him gain large profits within a few years and he later expanded his business in Quiapo to become a fully functioning department store named "Shoemart", specialising in the sale of shoes. Shoemart was later abbreviated to SM and became commonly known as "SM". The SM in Carriedo was later abandoned and moved in the present site in Quiapo. The first SM Supermall, SM City North EDSA, was opened in 1985 and started the Philippine "malling" phenomenon. Located in several cities and areas in Metro Manila, as well as major provincial cities, each SM is easily accessible and situated by places of public interest (churches, schools, major roads and highways, etc). SM opened its first department store outside Metro Manila (SM Delgado) in Iloilo City in 1979 and was relaunched in 2004. SM introduced Filipinos to an art-sport otherwise unpopular in tropical countries. The SM Supermalls also house 146 cinemas (with over 103,708 total seating capacity), making SM Prime Holdings the largest cinema operator in the country. As of 2006, SM Prime Holdings is embarking on an aggressive expansion program within the next five years. In preparation for this expansion, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. has amassed a total landbank of 96.6 hectares in 10 strategic locations. Included are attractive properties in provinces where urbanization is steadily underway. By 2006, five additional SM Supermalls will be operational, including the SM Mall of Asia. This is SM Prime Holdings most expensive project to date.

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. or SM Prime is the parent company of the SM Group's shopping malls. It is the largest shopping mall and retail operator in the Philippines. It was incorporated on 6 January 1994 by to develop, conduct, operate and maintain the SM commercial shopping centers and all businesses related thereto, such as the lease of commercial spaces within the compound of shopping centers. It later went public on July 5, 1994 and subsequently grew to become the largest company listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in terms of revenue. As of 2007, SM Prime Holdings became one of the largest shopping mall chains in the world. The company's main sources of revenues include rental income from mall and food courts, cinema ticket sales and amusement income from bowling and ice-skating. Currently, it has 41 operating malls totaling a gross floor area of 4.5 million square meters.

Banco De Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO), originally known as Acme Savings Bank, was acquired by the SM Group in 1976. The SM Group is one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines, with substantial interests in financial services, real estate development, and tourism and entertainment, founded around its core business in commercial centers and retailing. BDO listed its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on May 21, 2002.

China Banking Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services to businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as to individuals in the Philippines. It offers deposit products, loans and trade finance, domestic and foreign fund transfers, treasury products, trust products, foreign exchange, corporate finance, and other investment banking services. The company also offers insurance brokerage, computer services, and asset management services.[5]

SM Development Corporation (SMDC) was originally incorporated in 1974 as Ayala Fund, Inc., a closed-end investment company. In March 1986, it was renamed SM Fund, Inc. after the SM Group of Companies took majority ownership of the company. Since then, SM Fund, Inc. remained as an investment company providing investors with a professionally managed vehicle to invest in diversified businesses in the country.

Toy Kingdom is a large toy store chain owned and developed by the SM Group by Chinese-Filipino businessman, Henry Sy, Sr. along with its corporation name, the "International Toyworld Inc". It features a variety of toys, gizmos & gadgets. The first branch opened at SM Megamall in 1991. Now there are more than 20 branches opened inside and outside SM Supermalls. Aside from the regular Toy Kingdom stores, SM Department Stores have smaller toy sections called Toy Kingdom Express.:)) Toy Kingdom's rivals in the Philippines consist of Toys "R" Us (located at all Robinsons Malls, TriNoma, Alabang Town Center, and Marquee Mall)[1]and ToyTown (located at the Eastwood Mall in Eastwood City and Market! Market! in Bonifacio Global City). Kidz Station (with three locations inMakati City and one at the Shangri-la Plaza Mall in Pasig City) was also a rival store until Toys "R" Us acquired the company on November 2010.

Watsons Personal Care Stores (Phils.) Inc. is part of the Health and Beauty Store chain of A.S Watson, the largest health, beauty, cosmetics, and perfumery retailer in the world. Today, Watsons H&B Asia is the leading health and beauty chain in the continent with successful operations in 9 markets (Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines). In 2002, A.S. Watson Group joined hands with SM Prime Holdings Inc., the Philippines' leading shopping mall developer. The partnership brought about the first Watsons stores in SM Megamall and The Podium (Ortigas). Today, Watsons operates 170 stores in the Philippines serving more than 100,000 customers per day.

Name SM City Xiamen SM City Jinjiang SM City Chengdu SM Lifestyle Center

Opening 13 Dec 2001 26 Nov 2005

20 Oct 2006

30 Oct 2009

SM City Suzhou

2011

Location 2F, SM City, NO468 Jiahe Road, Xiamen City, Fujian, China Fu PU SM International Square, Jinjiang City, Fujian, China SM City (CHENGDU) NO.29, Section.2 of 2nd Ring Road, Chengdu City, Sichuan, China 3F, SM Lifestyle Center, NO468 Jiahe Road, Xiamen City, China No.1109, Yuehu Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu China.

Management Man of the Year" by the Makati Business Club 1999 Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La Salle University-Manila in January 1999 40 Richest Filipinos of 2008 Forbes magazine Heroes of Philanthropy 2009 1st Chinese-Filipino recipient of the PCE Big Brother of Filipino Entrepreneurs award (2006) 1st Chinese-Filipino recipient of the PRA President's Award (2005)