Booming e-load trade pays off for cash-strapped retailer

Larry and Gerte Cretencio with their children Karl John, Kristian Dave and Karl Matthew.

SAN JOSE, Antique—Simply put, it was his lucky day.

On a hot, humid afternoon, Larry Cretencio braved the heat to claim his raffle prize. His expectation of what he would bring home was just limited to bags of groceries. Little did he know that he would soon be a part of the millionaire’s club.

Larry, a tricycle driver, knew that he wouldn’t be able to make ends meet, especially if he has three young boys to feed, by ferrying passengers from the town proper to various points in Culasi, Antique.

His home, which is around 30 square meters big, stands a stone’s throw away from a hospital. “Parati may tao sa ospital na malapit sa amin. Madalas naghahanap sila ng mga chichirya at candy kaya naisipan naming mag-asawa na mag-tayo ng sari-sari store (They never run out of people in the hospital. Often, they want some chips or candies to eat so my wife and I decided to open a mini-store),” he narrates.

His wife, Gerte—who was his textmate before they married—said that, aside from the P800 her husband brings home every day from plying the tricycle route, the sari-sari store keeps things afloat for them.

Business was good for Larry and Gerte. But later, he was forced to close shop because he couldn’t afford the P5,000 fee needed for a permit to operate the store.

In addition to the food and toiletries they sell, Larry, 42, also became a retailer of Smart e-load. He found the loading business a lucrative opportunity to earn extra income.

He said that not everybody will buy shampoo every day but they will definitely need load to text or call.

He earns around P1,000 daily from the e-loads.

“We use it to buy food or allowance of the children. Or sometimes, we use it as capital for the store,” Larry said in Tagalog.

As a retailer, Larry accumulated points which he redeemed in the “Ka-Partner rewards program.” For every P100 e-load sales per day, he gets one point.

The accumulated points can be converted into load wallet credits, air time (points that can be used to avail promos like AllText20 or Pa Tok-o-Text or Smarttalk) or into raffle tickets.

Larry converted his points to raffle tickets. One day, a phone call informed him that he won.

THE WINNERS with San Jose, Antique Mayor Roni Molina (left), Perry Bayani of Smart’s sales and distribution; and Al Callet, VisMin cluster of sales and distribution.

“We didn’t believe the call. We thought it was a joke,” said Gerte. The following day, another phone call came and this time, they believed that they truly won.

Yet, they were not informed what their prize was. Larry had no knowledge that he had hit the jackpot. Instead, he was just asked to attend the Ka-Partner convention held in San Jose to claim his prize.

On a Sunday, Larry and Gerte attended the Smart Retailers annual convention. This is part of Smart’s reward program for distributors, sub-dealers and retailers where they can mingle with other retailers, check new business opportunities and convert their points through purchasing discounted goods from their featured merchants.

“We want to emphasize the importance of our retailers. They are the last layer before our products reach our consumers. They sell e-load, we reap the benefits. So this is our way of giving back to them,” said Rolex O. Campos, senior manager of Retailer Lifecycle Management.

When Larry found out that he was the grand winner of the P1 million prize money, he found himself too stunned to move. He needed assistance to go up the stage.

“There’s nothing wrong with dreaming of a better life. But whatever God gives us, we will accept it,” he said in Tagalog.

Asked where will he spend his prize money, Larry replied with his voice still shaking, “I will have my house repaired and reopen the store.”

Perry Bayani, head of retail and distribution, said that they have remained firm to their commitment to reaching out to their retailers.

By providing them a wider reach, more products and exciting promos, the company assures its retailers that they will thrive and have the chance to live more.