ITSMD: #2 Henry Sy

All Filipinos know Henry Sy or at least have used the services of his businesses. He is everywhere – figuratively. Where ever you look, there’s a Henry Sy brand. He is the business magnate that founded SM Group. His group owns all SM Malls, Sm Prime Holdings, Banco De Oro, China Bank, Supermarkets, SM Investments, Highlands Prime Holdings and SM Development. He is the richest Filipino for a few years now, with an estimated wealth of $5 Billion. So if you don’t know a person this big in our country, you must be living in a cave!

His rags-to-riches story is so inspiring. Coming from a poor family, he then became a Tai-Pan or tycoon of Asia. He claimed the title of richest Filipino away from Ayala and fellow tycoon Lucio Tan.

Ever since a kid, I loved SM Malls maybe because this is where my family brings me every week to eat and play at arcade. Malls became the place to be because you can buy anything there and it is perfect for family bonding. Since we are in a tropical country, SM Malls are fully air conditioned and is open to the public. Even poor people know SM because of this, so I doubt it if there’s a Filipino who doesn’t know who Henry Sy is.

Henry came to the Philippines at the age of 12 working at his father’s sari-sari store in Quiapo where he works more than 12 hours a day. And at his young age, he already is thinking of earning more than he has. In 1950s he gained his education of commerce from Far Eastern University (FEU) then went on a business trip. He brought home a lot of merchandising ideas.

He was the first to open a fully air-conditioned shoe store in the country. But due to poor cooperation of his suppliers, he slowly shifted to apparel and other merchandise. As a result, he opened his first department store in 1972 – two months after Martial Law was declared.

In 1983, he started constructing his first mall. It was also a time where the economy was unstable. But with determination and optimism he pushed through and opened in 1985 with their department store, supermarket and few tenants in it. Later on he expanded by opening SM Sta. Mesa and SM MegaMall. In 1997, they are planning to put up a very big mall, but due to the Asian Crisis it got deferred. However in 2006 they finally opened the 4^th largest mall in the world as we know it, Mall of Asia.

Henry also made a splash in the banking industry as his Banco De Oro bought other banks such as Dao Heng Philippines branch, the First eBank, the Banco Santander Philippines branch, the United Overseas Bank branches, and of course Equitable PCI Bank. Those acquisitions made them the second largest bank in the Philippines in 2008 then became number 1 in 2009.

And if I’m not mistaken, he bought 70% of Far Eastern University and 60% of National University.

He is my idol since a kid, and he still and will remain as an inspiration. Like I always say, if he can, so can I. Though in a different path, his formula to success could be used by anyone who is willing to succeed. I hope I’ll be next to him in the list of Richest Filipino.-DE

“There is no such thing as overnight success or easy money. If you fail, do not be discouraged; try again. When you do well, do not change your ways. Success is not just good luck: it is a combination of hard work, good credit standing, opportunity, readiness and timing. Success will not last if you do not take care of it.” – Henry Sy

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World Food Expo 2010

WHAT: World Food Expo 2010 “The Country’s Biggest & Most Effective Food Show”

WHEN: August 4-7, 2010

WHERE: SMX Convention Center & World Trade Center

Check out what ACTIVITIES to attend to.

For more information visit WOFEX 2010 Website.

Top culinary experts and scrumptious food awaits you. This would be a great show! See you there!- DE

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FRANCHISE 2010 was a Success!

16th of July 2010 marks the opening of FRANCHISE EXPO 2010, where people from different walks of life meet in one venue with one common thing in mind – Business Opportunity. International experts in franchising flew in to teach current franchisors, franchisees and wanna be franchisees and franchisors everything they need to know about the business. Although I wasn’t able to attend the conference and seminar, I managed to make time to drop by the SMX Conventions Center for the EXPO proper.

Just like last year, I saw familiar faces, from franchisors to wanna be franchisees, from franchising experts to the models. Owners of franchises still work hard to sell their concept to their prospects. They’re very passionate about their business and I could feel it with the way the talk. Visitors of the expo on the other hand have different agendas. Most of the people came there just to get brochures, have free tastes, observe the event, build network, socialize, have photo op with the models, etc. Only few serious wanna be franchisees were there.

Since I have been visiting FRANCHISE EXPO since 2008, I knew I’d know someone is an international franchising expert guest if I saw one and I did. They were having a great chat with current franchisors in the expo. And as usual, they were teaching business owners how to tweak their systems to make it more profitable.

Start-up franchises like yakisoba cart, twisted fried potatoes, tap-si-log cart were the newest in the franchising business. Other than those were the same old franchises I saw from last year. Pizza, Panini, dimsums, fried noodles, burgers, hotdogs, inasal, salons, drug stores, internet shops, computer retailing, and petrol were present as usual.

And how could I forget about the models. They were the same models as last year’s event - same faces and same sexy bodies. They still play a role of enticing visitors to know what their respective franchises offer. Last year I got to take photos with them, but this time I just wasn’t for I was there only to observe.

At first I was kind of bored seeing those same franchises back, but when I left the expo, I knew they came back because they were highly successful in franchising their businesses. Instead of getting uninterested, I suddenly admired them again. And as expected, franchising giants were there together with sponsors like PLDT, BDO, Caltex to name a few.

These past few years, I observed that this country is slowly shifting from being a man power country to an entrepreneurial country. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone because the Philippines are a very rich country in terms of resources. I am very happy to see that Filipinos are becoming more open to having a business rather than working their asses off their whole lives.

Everyone wants to have their own business, but often can’t think of a concept and do not know how to start one. Well, franchising might be the thing you are looking for. Here you can find an already successful business with a proven ready to use system that is offered to everyone. No more hassle of looking for suppliers, creating a concept, losing money on trials, creating a system because everything is provided in this event, from knowing about franchising to choosing what franchise to buy.

Buying a franchise makes you an instant entrepreneur. However, this doesn’t guarantee you would have an instant successful business. It would still boil down to how you handle the business. Instead of letting opportunities like this past you by AGAIN, make time to find out about these businesses. You’ll never know if the right business is just there waiting for you.

FRANCHISE 2010 was a success! Kudos to the organizers who once again pulled off another successful event!- DE

Samsung M3510’s 2.0 megapixel camera phone used to take the photos, I apologize for the quality.

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