Henry Sy: Father Of Philippine Retail

HENRY SY SR.: FATHER OF PHILIPPINE RETAIL

“Success is not just good luck. It is a combination of hard work, good credit standing, opportunity, readiness, and timing.” – Henry Sy Sr.

Henry Sy, known as the “Father of Philippine Retail” and the #1 Philippines’ richest man, was born October 25, 1924 in the village of Ankhue, in the Jinjiang county (now city) of Fujian province, south China.

We will look into the business success story of a Filipino entrepreneur, Henry Sy, in this article by Wilson Lee Flores, entrepreneur magazine.

Chinese immigrant Henry Sy survived the loss of his father’s two sari- sari stores at the close of World War II eventually install to himself as Asia’s shopping mall king. He survived other crises as well: the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law (1972), the chaos following opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr’s assassination (1983), the military coups against the Aquino administration (1987- 89), and the Asian financial crisis (starting 1997). “I don’t give up easily,” Sy, 85, says, “I look for solutions to problems. I want to make things happen.”

And happen they did. In its March 17, 2003 issue, the US business magazine Forbes listed Henry Sy among the world’s billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion and exceeding the fortunes of France’s Michellin, clan of tire makers; Citigroup boss Sanford Weill; publishing tycoon William Hearst III; Richard Marriott of the world- famous hotel chain; and television host Oprah Winfrey. In 1999, the Management Association of the Philippines named Henry Sy as “Management Man of the Year.” In 2005, the Philippine Retail Association conferred him the title, “Father of Philippine Retail,” and the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation honored him as one of four Business Greats.

Sy’s success has only increase his fame and clout. In 2002 he astounded most analysts when he tapped Asia’s wealthiest billionaire, Hong Kong’s Li Ka-Shing, to invest in the Philippines through a joint venture between the SM group and Li’s Watson retail chain.

Mall of Asia

His retail and other businesses aside, Sy is the power behind Banco de Oro Universal Bank and the 85-year old China Banking Corp., which his group took over in early 2005. He became a major force in promoting Philippine tourism after taking control of Tagaytay Highlands, a prime property and one of the projects Highlands prime Inc. (the real estate arm of publicly- listed Belle Resources), where Sy and sons Henry Jr. and Hans sit as board members. Tagaytay Highlands is a strategic complement to similar projects in Baguio and Cebu, and that gave the Philippines “a world- class resort community.” When “Mall of Asia,” his dream project, is completed in the Manila Bay reclamation area, it will sit on 90 hectares and is envisioned to be the premiere destination mall in the Asia Pacific region.

Indeed it is in the mall business that Sy has eminently distinguished himself. Sy’s SM Group of Companies, one of the Philippines’ biggest conglomerates, started as a shoe-retailing store on Carriedo Street in Quiapo, Manila. (The holding firm for the group, SM Investments Corp., was incorporated in 1960. SMIC became public in early 2005, raising nearly P25 billion in new money that many believed the Sy family will use to expand its portfolio investments and acquisitions). In 2001, the London- based Euromoney magazine named Sy’s retail chain as Best Retailer in Asia. Shoemart Inc., the Philippines’ largest chain of department stores, is an anchor tenant in all SM malls. Supervalue Inc handles the group’s supermarket businesses, including the Warehouse Clubs. The group’s retail chain include Star Appliance Center as well as stores dealing in hardware products, appliances, toys, home and lifestyle products, health and beauty products, export- overrun clothes and fashion accessories. SM also operates the Philippine’s largest chain of cinemas. Its Makro retail chain is a partnership with the Ayala Group of companies, another Philippine giant.

Group Leader

Henry Sy was born in the village of Ankhue, in the Jinjiang county (now city), of Fujian province, south of China. In 1936, when he was 12, he and his father migrated to Manila and here learned the basics of retailing and good customer service in his father’s sari-sari store. (One of his fondest memories of the pre- war era was joining a crowd of onlookers at the inauguration of Quezon Bridge in Quiapo, Manila, with the guest of honor, the flamboyant President Manuel L. Quezon, wearing his famous safari hat. The boy never imagined that he would get to meet and know all Philippine Presidents in the course of his business career). Desperate to study and learn English, Sy asked permission from his father to go back to school. He was already 12, but he had to start from grade one when he enrolled at the Quiapo Anglo- Chinese High School, where his classmates were younger and smaller. On reaching grade 4, Sy asked his teacher if he could be accelerated, and his teacher agreed provided he attained a minimum grade average of 90 percent. He eventually completed grad school in five years. “I used second- hand books and bought only a few pieces of pad paper at a time,” Sy says. “I did not want to ask more money from my father, who was working so hard. I was happy enough to be studying. I was not first in academics, but I was the group leader.”

Near the end of the war, one of elders Sy’s stores was burned down and the other looted in the chaos. “We lost everything,” Sy says. “My father decided to go back to China and asked me to join him, but it was my opportunity to start a business; I decided to stay behind. My father was pained by the hardships, but I never lost hope.”

After the war, goods were in desperate supply, so the young Henry joined the booming buy-and-sell business and saved enough money for future ventures. He returned to school in the early 1950s, enrolling at the Far Eastern University in Manila, in hopes of securing a degree in commerce. He lasted only two years as a result of pressure from his growing business. More than 40 years later, on January 30, 1999, De La Salle University conferred on him an honorary doctorate in business management. It was a toast to half a century of brilliant entrepreneurship. It has become a cliche, but success came to Sy only as a result of hard work, tenacity, frugality, self- discipline, Confucian values, and an undying thirst of learning.

Suggested links:

FOREXMART - INSTAFOREX - PEPPERSTONE - FXCC - FBS - COINSPH - COINBASE - PAYZA - LENDR.COM.PH - ALISON - PINOYINVESTOR - QMS - CLICKBANK - VIGLINK - TRULYRICHCLUB - WEEBLY

Direct Selling Business

Every year thousands of men and women across Philippines sign on with direct selling firm like Avon, Mary Kay, Natasha, Amway, CF-Wellness, DXN and other direct selling company-hoping to make money enough to buy new clothes, a new car, or a new house.

 They sell a little merchandise to a few relatives and close friends. Then they are through. They quit before they give themselves a chance to learn the basics of success in sales. “I am simply not a born salesperson,” they often say.

No one is born a salesperson, any more than one is born a doctor or born a lawyer. Sales is a profession. To be successful in any profession one must learn not only the basic techniques, but also how to apply those techniques. Success in sales makes use of all the abilities one is born with, plus all those acquired through education and experience.

If you are looking for a career opportunity or “extra income” to help with the family budget, direct selling offers you dream-fulfilling possibilities. However, you must give yourself time to learn the techniques of sales. Ask yourself. “How long do I have to study to become a doctor? to become a lawyer?

What Is Direct Selling?

Direct selling is marketing a product directly to the consumer with no middleman involved. Most reliable firms are members of the Direct Selling Associations. They bring to the public fine products that are modestly priced in order to insure mass consumption. Most direct selling companies furnish their representatives with a starter kit and essential supplies below-cost prices.

What are the rewards of being in direct selling?

1. You can be your own boss.
2. You can set your own hours.
3. You can own your own businesses with little or no investment.
4. You can pay yourself more than any boss would ever pay you.
5. You can give yourself regular raises as your business grows.

It is only fair to tell you that there are failures, too. There are people who will not work for themselves. When working for a boss, they rise early, are well-groomed, and get to the office on time. However, when they are their own boss, they are still in a bathrobe, drinking one more cup of coffee at 11:00 A.M.

If you can be your own boss and discipline yourself to do what has to be done when it has to be done, direct selling offers a most unusual earning opportunity.

Here are Ten Direct Selling Tips for Success:

1. BE A GOAL SETTER. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to save for college educations for your children? A new car? A new home? You can have whatever you want, but you must want it enough to do the things that have to be done to get it. Whatever your goal, write it down and set a target date for reaching it. Divide the time period into blocks of achievement that are reachable. Work consistently toward accomplishing each day, each week, each month what you set out to do. Goal-setting is a must in every area of life. Little is ever accomplished without definite goals.

2. BE A LIST MAKER. Each evening list all the things you want to get done the following day. That gives you an organized approach to each day. As each task is finished, mark it off your list. It is amazing how much gets done when one works with a “things-to-do” list. Also, have a notebook listing appointments, potential clients, repeat clients, and referrals, and keep it with you at all times. You will be adding to it constantly.

3. BE ENTHUSIASTIC. Enthusiasm is the high-octane “fuel” that salespeople run on. Enthusiasm generates its own energy. Energy and good health are synonymous with busy, happy people, people who are achieving.

4. RECOGNIZE THAT THE MAGIC WORD IN SALES IS “ASK”. In direct sales we don’t have to wait for business to come to us. We create our own business by asking for it. Ask for appointments, then you can do business. Ask for business, then you will close sales. Ask for referrals, then you always have a full list of potential clients. Be quietly, yet firmly aggressive.

5. EXPECT NO’S. Realize that no’s are not personal. In sales, as perhaps nowhere else, the law of averages works. Every no gets you closer to a yes. Keep track of your ratio. It will help improve your techniques. Are you getting ten no’s to one yes? Is your ratio five to one? Remember, the yes’s are your income. Also remember that “no” does not necessarily mean “no.” Often a “no” is simply a stall for more time to think. It may be a request for more information about your product or your service. What your client is actually buying is assurance. Assure here by your helpful attitude and your complete honesty, that you want what is best for her. She will most likely respect you and do business with you.

6. SCHEDULE TIME WISELY. A schedule is the roadmap by which salespeople travel. It takes the frustration out of the day. It assures that the necessary things get done and get done on time. Plan your work then work your plan.

7. BE POSITIVE IN YOUR ATTITUDE. Success in sales, as in all areas of life is 90 percent attitude and 10 percent aptitude. All of us must work at developing habits of constructive thinking. I am proud to be a salesperson. Sales make the wheels of our economy turn. Bernard Baruch, advisor to several presidents, is quoted as saying, “If every salesperson sat down and took no orders for twenty-four hours, it would bankrupt our country!” Every company that manufactures any kind of product depends upon salespeople to move that product. Without salespeople business would be paralyzed. Remember, sales is one of the highest paid of all professions. Statistics show that good salespeople enjoy incomes far above the average.

8. HAVE AN OFFICE AREA. Most direct salespeople work from their own homes, but it is essential to have a place where you can work in a organized and efficient manner. An office plus a strict working schedule gives you dignity. Both are absolutely essential for efficient operation and accurate record keeping, so important to the success of any business.

9. BE INVOLVED. Most sales organization offer contests to stimulate production. Include winning contests as part of your business goals. Contests make your business fun as well as adding considerable dollar value to your income.

10. LEARN TO HANDLE MONEY INTELLIGENTLY. A regular nine-to-five job usually means a paycheck at the end of the second week. Direct sales “reps” handle money constantly. Direct sales is instant income and constant income. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to become an efficient money manager. Learn to deposit every penny collected from clients into a checking account set up especially for the business. Since bank statements show an exact record of all monies collected, and business expenses can be verified by cancelled checks, record keeping becomes simple and accurate. Everything except a few “petty cash” transactions can be directly taken from bank statements.

Money saved regularly and put at interest, soon develops a second income in addition to earned income. A long-term goal, which is realistic in direct sales, is to be able to live in retirement off the interest earned on savings. Would financial security mean a lot to you? If so, ask yourself these questions:

- Am I honest?
- Do I really like people?
- Am I willing to learn?
- Am I willing to work?
- Am I capable of being my own boss?

If your answers are yes, I encourage you to find a good product for the direct sales market, one that you like, one that fills the need of a lot of people, and go to work for yourself!. You can turn dreams into reality.

Join the CF Wellness Unlimited - Health and Wellness Company, For Only 2,500 pesos membership entry inclusive of products and marketing materials plus Lifetime membership discount of 25%, ID with insurance coverage, online account and unlimited income. 


For Inquiries Call or Text Ms. Karen Calla-Casil 09282545828 / 09063684212


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