Ayala Malls and Fully Booked are marking a new chapter in community-focused retail with the opening of the new Fully Booked x Kinokuniya store at Glorietta 4 last June 20, 2025.
The new branch replaces the longtime Fully Booked store in Glorietta 3. Now nearly three times bigger, the 300-square-meter space is designed for wandering, browsing, and getting lost in stories. It’s also the first Fully Booked x Kinokuniya collaboration in an Ayala mall, and a sign of what’s to come as both brands expand with purpose.
“We’re looking at what our unique selling propositions are, so adding a point of difference always improves the product offer that we have in our malls,” said Nathan Clark, Leasing Head of Ayala Malls.
Over the past few years, Glorietta has welcomed several flagship concepts, but Clark says this one is special. “It’s not just about books. It’s the experience. You walk in and feel it right away, it invites you to stay. And that’s the kind of place we want our malls to be.”
For Fully Booked on the other hand, opening in Glorietta is a kind of homecoming. “Our first-ever mall store was actually in Glorietta back in 1998,” shared Lisa Lopez, Head of Operations at Fully Booked. “Now we’re back in a bigger space, with a stronger collection, and in partnership with Kinokuniya. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
The store brings together Fully Booked’s collection of titles with Kinokuniya’s deep catalog of Japanese books, especially manga, art, and language titles. It’s the fourth Kinokuniya partnership store (after Mitsukoshi BGC, SM MOA, and SM North EDSA), but the first time it’s landed in an Ayala property.
According to Lopez, Ayala has always been a strong partner—and one they’re happy to grow with. “We’ve had stores in several of their malls already, both in Metro Manila and in provincial areas like Cebu. This isn’t the first, and definitely not the last.”
While Fully Booked has had its ups and downs in recent years, it looks to be bouncing back strong. After closing a few branches in 2022, they’ve since opened new ones in Laoag, Cebu, and other provincial cities—with four to five more set to open in 2025, as they shared exclusively with Property Report.
“If you notice, most of the stores that we’ve opened are actually outside of Metro Manila,” said Ilia Uy, Fully Booked’s Head of Marketing. “It’s really more about tapping other areas that we haven’t been before and expanding our reach, and making Fully Booked, and our selection available to more Filipino readers all over the Philippines.”
With wider aisles, more shelves, and an even broader selection, the new Fully Booked x Kinokuniya in Glorietta is more than just a bookstore. It’s a space that encourages exploration and imagination, qualities that resonate deeply with the kind of communities Ayala has long set out to build.
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