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INDUSTRY

What Happened to CD-R King?

Everybody’s favorite electronics store is a shadow of its former self.
By
PAUL JOHN CAÑA   |  
Nov 11, 2020

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5/7/22, 8:38 AM What Happened to CD-R King

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At its peak, CD-R King had about 500 branches scattered all across the
archipelago. By comparison, Mang Inasal, one of the most famous fast-food
chains in the country currently has around 450 branches. 

CD-R King was the retail equivalent of the lechon manok, shawarma or milk tea
craze—only it was just one company that pretty much monopolized the market
for inexpensive computer parts and electronics.
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but only CD-R King was able to build a brand that became big enough to enter
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before then, what was the last thing you bought at a CD-R King? Are there even
CD-R King stores still operational today?
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What happened to CD-R King?

Roots of CD-R King

CD-R King started in Quiapo, Manila in 1997. Records show that the company
was founded by Nicholson Santos and Henry Ngo. The original CD-R King was a
small store in Paterno Street that initially sold CD-Rs or recordable CDs back
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when it was the preferred mode of data storage.
Chairman and COO of LT Group

Eventually that original branch closed down and CD-R King started opening
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branches near colleges and universities, a strategic move to be closer to its
target market—students and educators.
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5/7/22, 8:38 AM What Happened to CD-R King
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“Flash drives and memory cards were already becoming popular (back then), so
we knew the demand will come,” said Daryle Ganchua, then-regional manager
CD-R King in an interview with the TV show Game Changer on ANC published
in March 2016. 
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It was the demand for newer technologies that led CD-R King to diversify its
merchandise to include newer technologies that were mostly imported from Why Lorenzo Leviste's Open Letter to
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China. After CD-Rs and CD-RWs (CD-Rewritable), the company started selling
computer parts, smartphones, audio and video equipment, car accessories, LED
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lights and home appliances.
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“We really want to give tech to the masses,” Ganchua said then. “And we try to Lucio Tan's Grandson Is Now Vice
make it as affordable as possible. Chairman and COO of LT Group

Rapid expansion
CD-R King expanded rapidly in the early to mid-2000s, opening branches in
most of the major shopping centers like SM and Robinsons malls, and even in
so-called higher-end malls like the Podium. By 2016, CD-R King had about 350
branches, according to the Game Changer feature. They had branches in nearly
every major city, including in provinces like Baguio, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal,
Cebu and as far away as Ozamiz City. All of them were company-owned.

“Our aim, if possible is to put a CD-R King in every town,” Ganchua said in
a separate interview that he gave to online platform Unbox PH, which was
MOST
SHARED
published in June 2015. “We don’t (have) high profit margins because we want
(to give) the Filipino people the latest technology.”

Although CD-R King imports the products wholesale and then turns around and
sells these to the end-consumer through its retail channels, the company also

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started slapping its name on to generic products, effectively selling these
products under the CD-R King brand. 
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5/7/22, 8:38 AM What Happened to CD-R King
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It seemed to work. The store’s popularity skyrocketed during this time.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that people that were slowly becoming aware of
consumer tech products began thinking of CD-R King as the go-to store for all
of their electronics-related needs. It wasn’t uncommon to see the gleaming
stores with the bright yellow sign teeming with customers.

Challenges and customer complaints

But simultaneous with the company’s success and popularity came complaints
from its customers. Many questioned the quality of the products, with some
accusing the store of selling substandard merchandise that broke or fell apart
way too soon. 
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“We have a one percent defect (in our merchandise),” Ganchua told Unbox PH, 



when asked about the issue. “One to two percent return rate. That’s the
highest.” 

Another complaint was the payment system that CD-R King had in its stores.
For years, sales personnel wrote out receipts by hand for all purchases, which
doubled or tripled the waiting time for its customers. Even well into its 10th
year of existence, the store still kept the same system, which has led many
people to question why it hasn’t adopted a more efficient way of completing
this part of the transaction.

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By the latter part of the 2010s, CD-R King, and indeed, most other brick-and-
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mortar retail stores, began to contend with the rise of ecommerce, specifically,
online retail stores. According to Statista, while the market for ecommerce was
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5/7/22, 8:38 AM What Happened to CD-R King
online retail stores. According to Statista, while the market for ecommerce was
worth only about $500 million in 2015, it surged to about $3 billion four years
later in 2019 and is projected to reach about $12 billion by the year 2025.

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“The most common forms of e-commerce in the Philippines were B2C and C2C
models,” Statista says. “In a B2C model, online consumers are offered
competitive prices because of the unlimited marketplace. From a business
owner perspective, it lowers their cost of doing business; hence, it enables them
to reduce the transaction costs for customers.”
Especially for electronics, computer peripherals and mobile phone accessories,
many people began turning to online marketplaces for these items. It’s
interesting to note, however, that CD-R King has an official online store in
Lazada, one of the top ecommerce platforms in the country.

Where CD-R King is now

There was a spate of CD-R King store closures over the last few years. From a
high of 500 stores, CD-R King currently has less than 10 branches, according to
a source from an official of the leasing department of one of the country’s major
shopping malls. The source says that the CD-R King there is still operational,
but has closed down several other branches in the same mall network even
before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. And as far as the source knows,
the company has also undergone a change of ownership.

We can’t say for sure that ecommerce has contributed to the decline of CD-R
King, but it certainly hasn’t helped the company’s bottom line. In addition,
competitors such as Miniso, Mumuso, and similarly themed mini-department
stores that sell similar items that CD-R King sells, such as speakers,
headphones and earphones, powerbanks and the like, have likely eaten into CD-
R King’s market share.

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5/7/22, 8:38 AM What Happened to CD-R King

Esquire Philippines tried to reach out to the owners and management of CD-R
King, but it’s tough to find any information on the company itself. The website
is offline and the last post on its official Facebook page was last March. We also
reached out to a former executive of the company who told us that current
officials politely said no to our request for an interview.

One other theory about the decline of CD-R King is the sheer volume of
products available in store. At one point, the company also started selling
electric bikes, solar panels, lightbulbs, CCTV cameras and surveillance systems,
3D printers and even rice cookers, mini refrigerators, and windmills (Yes, actual
windmills). While this has led to endless jokes and memes about the variety of
products one can buy at a CD-R King store, there’s always that caveat of
spreading oneself too thin. Its quest to cover all bases and be everything to
everybody might have ultimately worked against it.

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About The Author

Paul John Caña

Associate Editor, Esquire Philippines

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