New shopping center will debut May 22nd with fashion, food, luxury retail and a $100 million investment.

Cuenca’s retail landscape is set for one of its biggest shifts in years when Mall del Alto opens to the public on May 22nd, bringing a long list of international franchises to the city for the first time and positioning itself as a new commercial hub on the Cuenca-Azogues corridor.

The $100 million shopping center, developed by the Ortiz Group, will debut with 136 stores, 80 kiosks, and a tenant mix designed to distinguish it from the city’s existing malls. Roughly 70% of the brands in the complex will be new to Cuenca, according to company representatives, with fashion and food chains making up much of the initial wave.

A major new retail destination

Mall del Alto has been under construction since its announcement in 2024 and is rising on a 16-hectare site along the Cuenca-Azogues road. The developers say the project generated more than 1,500 direct and indirect jobs during construction and was financed through a combination of owner investment and contributions from the brands occupying the space.

The mall’s formal inauguration is scheduled for May 21st during a private event expected to draw authorities and business leaders, before the doors open to the public the following day.

Beyond its size, the project is also being presented as the Ortiz Group’s first shopping center designed with sustainability and energy-efficiency measures built into the development. The complex includes 5,500 solar panels intended to supply part of its electricity needs, a feature that sets it apart within Cuenca’s retail market.

H&M leads a fashion-heavy lineup

Fashion will be the mall’s dominant category, occupying about half of its commercial premises. The centerpiece will be H&M, which will serve as Mall del Alto’s anchor tenant with a 3,000-square-meter store, its largest retail footprint in the complex.

The Cuenca location will become H&M’s eighth store in Ecuador. The Swedish retailer first entered the country in Quito in 2022 and has expanded steadily since then. Its arrival in Cuenca reflects the city’s growing appeal to brands that previously concentrated their national operations in Quito and Guayaquil.

H&M will be joined by a roster of well-known apparel, accessories and footwear names entering Cuenca for the first time, including GAP, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret, Jorge Bischoff, Adolfo Domínguez and Purificación García.

The mall’s fashion offering will range from mass-market clothing to more premium and designer labels. Adolfo Domínguez and Purificación García, both Spanish brands, are expected to broaden Cuenca’s luxury and higher-end retail options. Other upscale labels had also been rumored in connection with the project, though not all of those anticipated brands are confirmed in the mall’s announced lineup.

One notable absence will be Inditex, the Spanish retail group behind Zara, Pull&Bear and Bershka, whose brands had been widely anticipated by some shoppers but will not be part of Mall del Alto’s opening mix.

Food chains arrive with strong expectations

The food and beverage side of Mall del Alto is also drawing attention, particularly because several national and international chains are using the project to establish their first Cuenca locations.

Krispy Kreme, which entered Ecuador in 2023 and has expanded quickly since then, is among the most anticipated openings. Its Mall del Alto store will include the brand’s “Donut Theater” concept, allowing visitors to see fresh donuts coming off the production line. In addition to donuts, the chain plans to sell coffees, bubble teas, frappes and chilled beverages.

The company has described Cuenca as an important market in its broader Ecuador expansion and indicated that more locations in the city could follow.

Taco Bell is also joining the Mall del Alto tenant list as part of its renewed push in Ecuador. The U.S. fast-food chain returned to the country in late 2025 through a partnership with the Cuenca-based Sociedad Gourmet group and had already expanded to several locations by May 2026.

Other food franchises preparing to open include El Corral, the Colombian burger chain, and Wetzel’s Pretzels, which has announced ambitious plans to grow across Ecuador in the coming years. Their arrival underscores how Mall del Alto is being used not only to serve local shoppers, but also as a launchpad for brands seeking a stronger foothold outside the country’s two largest metropolitan markets.

Cuenca becomes a bigger target for expansion

The opening of Mall del Alto comes at a moment when Cuenca is increasingly being viewed by national and international retailers as a market large enough to support brands once considered viable only in Quito or Guayaquil. That shift is visible in the mall’s tenant strategy, which relies heavily on names that already carry recognition among consumers but have not yet operated physically in the city.

For shoppers, the impact will be immediate: more international apparel, more fast-casual dining choices, and a retail complex designed to function as both a commercial center and social gathering point. For developers and franchise operators, the project will test just how much untapped demand exists in Cuenca for brands that have been expanding elsewhere in Ecuador.

With its opening days away, Mall del Alto is set to become one of the most closely watched retail launches in southern Ecuador, not only because of its size, but because of what its tenant list says about Cuenca’s changing place in the country’s consumer economy.