Top 10 Successful Entrepreneurs in the Philippines Story

1. 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!

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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!
Her story is a stuff for telenovela, and frankly, I’m surprised the networks and movie outfits
have not caught on. How’s this for a plot teaser?
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!

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.
Alfredo is now literally on top of the world!

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

IPINASA NI:
JOHN MAENARD B. CRUZ
V- BONIFACIO