10 SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. HENRY SY (SHOE MART)

Shoe Mart, or SM for short, is one of the country’s retail behemoths, and far
more than just a mall.

It is now a well-loved institution of which many Filipino families hold fond

memories. It provides a wide range of services, including shopping, theatres,
locations for date nights, parties and other special occasions, ice skating, and
food courts. SM started modestly and from humble beginnings, despite its now
upmarket reputation.

Henry Sy grew up in Jinjang, Xiamen, China, in a low-income household. Due

to the challenges in their home country, they moved to the Philippines in 1936
and opened a tiny convenience shop in Manila.

Shortly after, World War II broke out and ruined the family business. Sy, on the
other hand, continued to pursue his entrepreneurial interests by selling worn
military combat boots and other items to American soldiers. This is where the
name “Shoe Mart” originates: it was Manila’s first shoe store at the time.
Despite being unable to find vendors that could make the shoes he wanted, Sy
persisted.

Sy, who died in 2019 at the age of 94, was survived by his family. Sy’s legacy
lives on today in his many SM malls and other acquired businesses. As a
result, he was one of the world’s wealthiest men.

Today, the fashion industry looks somewhat different to when Henry Sy

founded his humble shoe store. Get a handle on this ever-changing industry
with our Fashion Management course.

2. TONY TAN (JOLLIBEE FOODS)

The cheerful tagline “langhap sarap” – a Jollibee trademark – is well-known
among Filipinos.

Tony Tan Caktiong, another Chinese immigrant, is the brains behind this
popular food chain. His family maintained a Chinese restaurant in Manila at the
time, which enabled him to finish college.

He bought an ice cream shop in 1975, but owing to low sales, he decided to
add other items such as fried chicken, fries, and burgers. Customers came to
the store to buy his products after word spread in his area.
 Caktiong was able to expand across the country after embracing the fast-food
business model, growing his humble restaurant into one of the Philippines’
most successful businesses.

Furthermore, by establishing a franchise, he has been able to break into the

international market. With over 2,500 outlets in the Philippines and locations in
the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and the UK,
Jollibee is a fast-food behemoth.

3. SOCORRO RAMOS (NATIONAL BOOK STORE)

Socorro Ramos began her career in publishing and retail as a salesgirl in a
bookshop. With a capital of PHP200, she and her husband launched National
Book Store in Escolta at the age of 19, selling books and school supplies to
children. The Japanese imposed censorship on books and publications at the
time, which included her burgeoning business. She and her husband
supplemented their income by selling other products such as candles and
soaps.

The Ramoses built a nine-story structure along Avenida, after the postwar
boom brought increased revenue for the company. Ramos adopted a hands-on
approach to running her business, even designing the company’s logo herself.

The National Book Store now has around 3,000 employees. At the age of 98,
Socorro Ramos is worth an estimated USD3.1 billion, making her one of the
country’s richest people.

4. JAM GOKONG WEI (J.G. HOLDINGS)

Born in China, John Gokongwei Jr. was the heir to one of Cebu’s wealthiest
families.

When his father died, however, the family fortune evaporated and he had to
support his family by peddling goods from his bicycle in the streets of Cebu.
He then began to trade by boat and truck until he began importing from the
United States.

Seeing that low trade margins would always limit his income, he switched
focus to manufacturing. He borrowed PHP 500,000 from Chinabank to launch a
maize milling company that is now known as Universal Corn Products.
 Although this business venture was a success, he did not stop there. He
began adding more goods, such as Blend 45, and soon changed the name of
his company to Universal Robina Corporation.

Gokongwei died in 2019, aged 93. His family is now one of the most successful
Filipino business families and owns the Robina Land Corporation, which owns
Robinsons Supermarkets and Department Stores, as well as the commercial
airline Cebu Pacific.

5. EDGAR SIA (MANG INASAL)

Edgar Sia, the brains behind Mang Inasal, is widely regarded as the
Philippines’ pioneer in limitless rice meals.

Sia, who is native to Iloilo City, dropped out of college at the age of 19 to start
his own laundry and photo-developing business. Sia, then 26 years old,
decided to launch the fast-food restaurant Mang Inasal – meaning “Mr.
Barbecue” in his native Hiligaynon – in 2003. In his hometown, the first branch
was erected in a mall parking lot.

The restaurant was a huge success. Jolibee’s Tony Caktiong bought Mang
Inasal for PHP5 billion after hearing about Sia’s growing business. Sia
invested the proceeds from the sale of Mang Inasal into banking and
healthcare. He is the country’s youngest billionaire, at the age of 42.

6. MARIANO QUE (MERCURY DRUG)

Following WWII, Mariano Que discovered a commercial opportunity. Que, who
had worked at a local drugstore before the war, opened his own drugstore
when he noticed the demand for sulfa, a type of antibiotic used to treat
bacterial illnesses.

He began selling good-quality sulfa for a low price. As a result, he was able to
expand his clientele. In 1945, he founded the Mercury Drug chain of
pharmacies.

Mercury Drug was named after the Roman god Mercury, who was known for
his speed as well as for originating the medical industry’s symbol, the
caduceus. He helped the company grow over time, and it is today one of the

best-known drugstores in the country.

7. CRESILDA TUERES (GREENWICH PIZZA)
Greenwich began as a modest over-the-counter pizza shop in Greenhills in
1971, founded by Cresida Tueres. Tueres had a natural talent for cooking; her
friends and family were so taken with her food that they supported her in
developing her humble shop into a national franchise.

Jollibee Foods Corporation, impressed by Tueres’ commercial acumen and

Greenwich’s expansion, struck an agreement in 1994 to buy 80 percent of
Greenwich’s stock.

The new company was renamed Greenwich Pizza Corporation after the
successful commercial agreement, and it launched its first store in the Ever
Gotesco Commonwealth Shopping Mall in 1994.

8. CECILIO KWOK PEDRO (LAMOIYAN CORPORATION)

The story of Cecilio Kwok Pedro is a classic example of Filipino
entrepreneurial spirit overcoming the odds.

Pedro was once the president of Aluminum Container Inc., a company that
made aluminium toothpaste tubes for Procter & Gamble, Philippine Refining
Company (now Unilever), and Colgate-Palmolive. His clientele, however,
switched to plastic-laminated toothpaste tubes due to environmental
concerns. Aluminum Container Inc. went out of business in 1986.

Unabashed, Pedro founded Lamoiyan Corporation and began producing

toothpaste at a 50% discount to his competitors. Hapee and Kutitap, two still-
popular brands, were among them. Although overseas brands retaliated by
decreasing their prices, Pedro responded by launching a children’s toothpaste
featuring Sesame Street characters. Pedro’s brands have spread throughout
Asia, including China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Pedro’s ambitions aren’t limited to success in the business world; he’s also
known for his work to help hearing-impaired people find work in the United
States. His initiatives include providing free lodging for more than 30 deaf–
mute employees. DEAF, or Deaf Evangelistic Alliance Foundation, has
provided college education for more than 180 hearing-impaired students to
date.

9. ALFREDO M. YAO (ZEST-O)

 Alfredo Yao’s father died when he was 12; his mother supported him and his
siblings by working as a street vendor. Yao was able to attend college at the
Mapa Institute of Technology thanks to the help of a family member, but did
not complete.

Yao did a variety of odd jobs, including working at a printing machine. He

learned how to print cellophane wrapping for candy and biscuits during his
time there, and was inspired to create his own printing company as a result of
his experiences.

His printing company was thriving, but it was his discovery of the Doy
Packaging technique from Europe that really launched his career. He sought to
market the system to juice companies, but they showed little interest. Yao
decided to start his own juice company, initially concocting recipes in his
kitchen.

These juices were not only tasty, but also appealed to parents, who found the
lightweight, vividly coloured packaging convenient to pack in their children’s
lunchboxes. The packaging also helped the juice to stay cold for longer.

Zest-O now owns 80% of the Filipino juice market and has spread to other
markets in Australia, China, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore, the United States,
and other European countries. Yao’s commercial success has resurrected the
Philippines’ juice industry and boosted dalandan orange farmers’ businesses.
Small-scale entrepreneurs recycle the Doy packs into handbags for export to
other countries.

By acquiring Asian Spirit Airlines and renaming it Zest Air, Yao has expanded
his business interests into the airline industry.

10. GREGORIO G. SANCHEZ JR. (LactoPAFI)

While working as a provincial board member in Cebu, Gregorio Sanchez
noticed that pigs sold to market were visibly underweight.

He dedicated his spare time to finding the cause for this anomaly, and
did various tests and trials on how to ease Cebu’s cattle malnutrition,
using only the pots and pans in his home.

Despite several setbacks, his perseverance paid off: he found out that
the pigs were infected with dangerous bacteria. His solution was
probiotic bacteria that would boost the body’s healthy bacteria count.
 Sanchez eventually developed his discovery into LactoPAFI Probiotic
Bacteria, which would go on to become a global probiotics leader with
buyers in Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Norway, Australia, France,
and the United States.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
Example #1

The importance of the financial institutions can be observed from the way
governments interfere as and when these entities in their respective nations
suffer turmoil. The authorities try their level best to protect them from the
financial crisis

and help them prevent their collapse. For example, in the 2008 financial crisis,
the administrative authorities helped many financial institutions from getting
bankrupt. These entities included the American International Group (AIG), Bank
of America, Citigroup, etc.

Example #2

One of the most significant financial institutions in the United States is Wells
Fargo. It operates almost 6% of the bank branches in the nation. Though there are
many other institutions that the Americans may take into account, they prefer
Wells Fargo over the rest. The only reason behind this is the significantly low
monthly fees and higher transaction limits that it offers.

Financial institutions can be depository, non depository or investment oriented.

Some of the examples of financial instutions include JP Morgan Chase, ICBC,
Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab and Citigroup.