Ma. Katrina B.

Banaag

9-FLORES

Top 10 Successful Entrepreneurs in the Philippines

Henry Sy, Shoe Mart

SM is more than just a shopping mall. It is a beloved

institution. Many of my favorite memories happened in SM.
From shopping, watching blockbuster movies, date night, ice
skating to food tripping, SM has it all.

However, this gigantic chain of more than 44 large-scale

shopping centers in the Philippines and throughout Asia has
very humble beginnings.

Henry Sy came from an impoverished family in Jinjiang, a town near Xiamen,

China. The entire family left China in 1936 to help the family patriarch manage a
thriving convenience store in Manila.

Unfortunately for the family, their store was burned down during World War II.
However, business-minded Henry saw an opportunity selling used military combat
boots and other postwar goods from supportive American soldiers!

His success led to the opening of his first shoe store, the SM in Avenida, Manila.
Henry had problems finding shoe manufacturers who could design shoes according
to what he had in mind, but he persisted. He spoke to customers and built his own
network of suppliers and manufacturers.

That never-say-die attitude got Henry Sy to where he is now: one of the richest men
in the world and a world-class commercial center developer who provides
opportunities to both entrepreneurs and the working class!

Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee

If you thought you only loved The Champ and Chicken Joy,
then be prepared to be inspired by the man behind the
franchise.

Also coming from an immigrant family from China, Tony

learned the value of hard work and dedication from his father
who worked as a cook in a Buddhist temple. Tony’s father
started a Chinese restaurant in Manila with his savings so he can send him to
college.

In 1975, Tony bought a Magnolia ice cream parlor. However, it was not generating
enough business. After talking with his customers and people within the
neighborhood, Tony decided to include sandwiches, fried chicken, and French fries
in the menu. In time, the restaurant found itself packed to overflowing capacity.

By 1978, Tony had opened six more restaurants, but the main item was no longer
ice cream. Tony then decided to adapt the McDonald’s concept and named his
franchise after his work ethic of being as “busy as a bee.”

Today Jollibee has grown to more than 2,500 stores in the Philippines plus locations
in the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Brunei.

John Gokongwei Jr., JG Holdings

John’s life story is a “rich-to-rags-to riches” story. John Jr. was

born in China to the scion of one of the wealthiest families in
Cebu.

When the father died, so did the business and the family
fortune was soon gone. John Jr. supported his family by
peddling items along the streets of Cebu by bike. Soon, he was
trading items by boat to Lucena City and to Manila by truck.
Eventually, he started importing items from the US.

John Jr. soon realized that importing carried too much risk and low margins. Thus,
in 1957, he borrowed Php 500,000 from China Bank and started a corn milling
business named Universal Corn Products.

By 1961, Universal started diversifying its products and launched several popular
brands such as Blend 45. Universal Corn Products was renamed Universal Robina
Corporation.

Today, the Gokongwei family owns several successful and highly diversified
businesses. Among these are Robina Land Corporation and Cebu Pacific.

Socorro C. Ramos, National Bookstore

The next time you buy your batch of new school supplies and
textbooks, do not forget to thank Ms. Socorro C. Ramos!

Girl’s brother marries scion of a wealthy bookstore owner in

Manila. The girl finds job as a saleslady at 18, meets and falls
in love with the son of the owner; thus, he is technically her in-
law! Their parents forbid the relationship and sends the girl back to the province.
However, their love is so strong, girl and boy stand up to the parents, get married,
and have twins.

The boy takes over a branch with the girl, and they renamed it in National Book
Store. However, a war breaks out, and the store is destroyed! They rebuild the
store, but everything is held under suspicion of being “questionable.” They relocate
the store in Avenida, but as the business picks up, a storm destroys their roof. Soon,
they rebuild the store, and every centavo is used to build a nine-story National Book
Store.

The girl is Socorro and the boy is Jose. Today, National Bookstore has grown to over
100 stores. Despite digital technology, it continues to flourish!

Cecilio Kwok Pedro, Lamoiyan Corporation

Cecilio’s life is not a typical rags-to-riches story; instead, it

embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of overcoming seemingly
insurmountable odds.

Cecilio used to head Aluminum Container Inc., which produced

the aluminum toothpaste tubes for Procter and Gamble,
Philippine Refining Company (now Unilever), and Colgate-
Palmolive. However, environmental concerns led his clients to
shift to plastic-laminated toothpaste tubes. Aluminum Container Inc. failed and
closed its shop in 1986.

He put up Lamoiyan Corporation and manufactured toothpaste that was priced

50% lower than his competitors. These included the still-popular brands Hapee and
Kutitap. Although the foreign brands countered by lowering their brands by 20%,
Cecilio responded by introducing toothpaste targeted for children that featured the
characters from Sesame Street.

Cecilio’s brands have made it to other markets in Asia, such as China, Vietnam, and
Indonesia.

Cecilio’s greatest accomplishment was not limited to manufacturing. He is also

known for his advocacy to help hearing-impaired people find employment in the
country.

His programs include free housing for more than 30 deaf–mute staffs. To date, more
than 180 hearing-impaired students have received college education through DEAF
or Deaf Evangelistic Alliance Foundation.
Mariano Que, Mercury Drugstores

Many of today’s entrepreneurs would learn the value of

customer experience and innovation through Mariano Que.

Like many of the entrepreneurs discussed so far, Mariano

found opportunities for entrepreneurship after World War 2.
Mariano had been working in a local drugstore when the war
destroyed several businesses in the city.

Mariano saw the need to supply sulfa drugs, which were used to treat bacterial
infections. He started to buy sulfa tablets and sold them at affordable prices. Soon,
other people followed and adapted Mariano’s strategy.

However, only Mariano sold high-quality sulfa tablets, which ensured him a steady
clientele. With his hard work and dedication to build up savings, he was able to put
up his first drug store in 1945, which he named Mercury Drug. The Roman god
Mercury is known for speed. He also carries the caduceus, which is a symbol in the
medical industry.

Mariano invested his earnings into the company and introduced many innovations
in the service. Among these innovations were a drug-delivery service to clients and
locations that are open 24/7 because he knew people would be needing medicines
any time of the day.

By the time Mariano opened his second Mercury Drug at the newly constructed
Ayala shopping center in Makati, he had invested in technological innovations, such
as biological refrigerators and computer-guided controls.

Mariano’s dedication to his business has allowed Mercury Drug into 700 stores and
a widely recognized name for quality pharmaceuticals.

Alfredo M. Yao, Zest-O

The next time you pass a vendor peddling goods on the street,
keep in mind that he or she can be supporting the next Alfredo
M. Yao.

When Alfredo lost his dad at age 12, his mother was left to
support him and his siblings by becoming a sidewalk vendor. A
relative was able to give financial aid, which allowed Alfredo to
reach, but not complete, college at the Mapúa Institute of
Technology.
Alfredo took several odd jobs, which included time at a printing press. During his
stay there, Alfredo learned how to print cellophane wrappers for candies and
biscuits. His experience prompted him to start his own printing business.

His printing business was doing well. However, his discovery of the Doy Packaging
system from Europe was the turning point of his entrepreneurial career. He tried to
sell the system to juice manufacturers, but no one was interested. Thus, Alfredo
ventured into the juice business by concocting flavors in his kitchen.

These juices were not only delicious but also appealing to parents as they found the
light and brightly colored packs easy to include in their children’s lunch boxes. Best
of all, the packaging allowed the juice to stay chilled longer. Zest-O was born!

Today, Zest-O controls 80% of the juice market, and it has expanded to markets in
Australia, China, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore, US, and several countries in
Europe. Alfredo’s entrepreneurial success has revitalized the juice region in the
Philippines particularly farmers growing dalandan. The Doy packs are also recycled
by local cottage industries into handbags for export to other countries!

The boy who once faced the harsh realities of life now become a successful juice
manufacturer. Alfredo has diversified his business interests into airlines by
acquiring Asian Spirit Airlines and renaming it as Zest Air.

Corazon D. Ong, CDO Foodsphere

Corazon represented the value of having passion in what you

do as a motivating factor in finding success as an entrepreneur.

Corazon was a dietitian by profession. She used her knowledge

to create processed meats that were affordable enough to
compete with the popular foreign brands. She developed corned
beef, hamburger patties, meat loaf, and hotdogs, which were
sold purely as a home business.

By 1975, Corazon decided to scale her newfound business and established CDO
Foodsphere. The company’s reputation to develop high-quality but low-priced
processed meats quickly spread and made CDO a regular staple in every shopping
cart.

As a mother herself Corazon understood the value of having meals that can be
prepared easily, taste good, and fit the family budget.

In time, CDO expanded to industrial markets. Today, CDO supplies processed

meats to 90% of quick service restaurants or QSRs in the country.
Gregorio G. Sanchez Jr., LactoPAFI

While working as a provincial board member in Cebu, Gregorio

noticed that pigs sold to market were apparently
malnourished.

He decided to look into the cause of malnutrition by doing

research in his spare time. Using only pots and pans in his
home, Gregorio conducted several tests and experiments on
how to alleviate the state of malnutrition of Cebu’s livestock.

Despite numerous failures, his persistence finally paid off. He discovered the pigs
were suffering from a type of bad bacteria. His solution was a probiotic bacteria that
would increase the level of good bacteria in the body.

The bacteria would be called LactoPAFI Probiotic Bacteria. Gregorio’s discovery

would reach global acclaim as a leader in probiotics. It is now exported to New
Zealand, Norway, France, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and US.

Diosdado Banatao, Computer Chips

Diosdado’s life story exhibits perseverance, hope,

determination, and the power of self-belief. The son of a farmer
in Cagayan, Diosdado would walk barefoot just to complete his
high school education. His resilience made him a Magna Cum
Laude graduate in electrical engineering.

His excellence in the academe paved the way for Diosdado to

become a pilot-trainee at the Philippines Airlines or PAL, which
would eventually open doors for a design engineer position at Boeing Co. The
opportunity brought Diosdado to the US where he completed a master’s degree in
electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University.

Diosdado’s experience working with the top technology companies led to his design
of the first single-chip 16-bit microprocessor calculator. By 1981, Diosdado was
commissioned by Seeq Technologies to assist the Ethernet to find an efficient way of
linking computers. Disodado designed the single- chip controller that provided data-
link control and the transceiver in the first 10-bit Ethernet CMOS.

His success opened doors to build his own company, Monstroni, in 1985 and Chips
and Technology, which made US$ 12 million in the first quarter alone. By 1996,
Diosdado sold Chips and Technology to Intel for US$ 430 million!

Throughout his success, Diosdado never forgot his roots and Filipino heritage. He
set up the Banatao Filipino American Fund to lend support to Filipino American
students in Northern California who aspire to become electrical engineers.