Swiss bank cites SM input to world economy
SM AURA in Taguig
TERESITA Sy-Coson of the SM Group
MANILA, Philippines–Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for a Filipino company to be put in the ranks of large regional peers that are credited with helping fuel the growth of the global economy.
But times have changed.
Recently, the SM group and its vice chair Teresita Sy-Coson have been cited by Swiss private bank Pictet as one of several Asian firms that form part of the “locomotive of the world’s economy.”
In its Picket Report magazine, the internationally renowned wealth and asset manager noted that emerging markets like the Philippines have powered the world economy since the global financial crisis of 2008 laid waste to the more developed economies of the United States and Europe—and the SM conglomerate is an integral part of that push from emerging markets.
Pictet’s publication paid special attention to Sy-Coson, who is vice char of the family’s flagship SM Investments Corp. and chair of BDO Unibank, the country’s largest financial institution.
“As a young child growing up in Manila, [she] worked part time in the family shoe store while still at school—as did her younger sister and four brothers,” the bank said. “After graduation in 1970 with a commerce degree, she began working full time at the store, with a focus on merchandising that quickly doubled sales.”
Two years later, the bank added, “her fa ther asked her to open his first department store in Manila, launching a retail empire which has since become the largest in the country.”
Forbes magazine ranks the Sy family, headed by its patriarch Henry Sy Sr., as the Philippines’ wealthiest, with an estimated net worth of $12.7 billion.
The business empire was founded by Sy Sr., who emigrated to the Philippines from southern China, opening a small shoe store in Manila in 1958.
Sy-Coson is the eldest of six children.
“As family members, we were taught to work whenever we had time,” she told the Picket publication. “There was no choice but for everyone in the family to help out wherever we could. And as the business grew, we all became involved in different areas.”
She opened the group’s first department store in Manila at the age of 22. It was an innovative concept then, especially since it catered to the underserved middle class, at a time when most “dry goods” were sold in small shops or outdoor markets.
It was a hit.
The idea of operating an air-conditioned establishment drew thousands of buyers in the tropical country to the Sys’ SM department store.
A decade later, the family opened its first of many shopping centers—a business model that has since grown to nearly 50 shopping malls across the country, along with five in China.
In providing products and services, the group has always focused on the middle class Filipino consumer.
“That group of people accounts for about a third of our retail business… We are strongest in the middle income market,” Sy-Coson told Pictet.
HENRY Sy Sr.
But the giant conglomerate is also nimble on its feet.
“Digital communications are changing tastes, so we focus on premium brands, leaving luxury brands to others,” she said. “We are also upgrading our malls, and our SM Mall Asia is the biggest in the country. These premium malls are attracting more international brands such as Uniqlo, Forever 21 and Zara.”
But the soft-spoken Sy-Coson is not only a mall operator. She is also a banker—perhaps the Philippines most powerful one, thanks to being chair of BDO.
The giant financial institution has risen in recent years to become the country’s largest, from only No. 6, after a string of mergers and acquisitions over a decade.
And despite being large, like the SM retail and mall empire, BDO is also nimble. Under her watch, the bank is now preparing for the e-commerce wave which is approaching the country as its consumers become more and more sophisticated.
“In retail, there are customers who don’t have time to come to our stores. And they are growing in number, especially the digital-savvy younger people who want to do their banking online,” she said. “It will take a while to grow, but we are prepared for that, seeing e-commerce as complementary to bricks and mortar right now.”
The Pictet feature ends with the tycoon-in-the-making sharing her advice to the next generation of entrepreneurs:
Work together with the long-term vision that makes family businesses successful for shareholders.
Stay close to your market. While professional managers will do that, if at least one family member does so, he or she can reinforce the family’s long-term perspective.
Encourage risk-taking that family businesses can manage to create long-term success. My father thought 20 years ahead, and took risks with that perspective.
Wise words any businessperson, big or small, should heed.
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