The year was 1972. Shoemart Manila in Calle Echague was just transformed into the first department store, 14 years after Henry Sy, Sr. opened it in 1958.
In the same year along the same street is 13-year-old Roberto Arias consistently helping his Tita on errands in Quiapo, which is always followed by a trip to Shoemart Manila. There he first saw Sy fixing shoes on display; an experience that he will still remember 50 years later.
“Alam mo naman na siya yung may ari kasi nakabantay and inaayos yung mga display. Back then, I had no idea who Mr. Henry Sy was until the SM Store started to expand. It was only when Mr. Sy was already getting famous and his pictures can be seen in newspapers, that’s when I realized he was the same person I would see inside the store. That’s how my admiration for Mr. Sy started. Sabi ko sa sarili ko nun, sana maging ganun rin ako ka successful,” 63-year-old Arias now recounts.
Supplying the SM Store with furniture since 1987, his company, Homecare Contractor, Inc., started its production in the backyard of his in-laws in Cavite. Now he has a one-hectare facility to produce durable, high-quality, built-up units and 70 direct workers with some who have been with him since he started his business.
He worked hard to get his products inside SM. “Kasi pag nakapasok ka ng Shoemart, para ka nang nag-eexport. One thing about Shoemart is napakagaling magbayad. Nakakatulong ito na madaling mapaikot namin ang pera kaya nakakaipon kami.
Our company is really an SM baby. Quiapo pa lang, kasama na kami.” What started out as a dream for Mr. Arias has been fulfilled through hard work, patience, and perseverance.
Henry Sy, Sr. is Tatang to all
Tatang Henry Sy, Sr. inside Shoemart Carriedo in the 1950s.
Named as the father of modern Philippine retail, but endeared to his family, employees, and peers as Tatang, Henry Sy, Sr.’s legacy as a visionary transcends the evolution of customers and the retail industry. Whether it’s a pair of shoes for every Filipino during the postwar era or an air conditioned space for anyone who’s buying at his store, the business of SM is anchored on the hope of giving dignity to his countrymen.
Setting his sights to be a leader in his chosen industries, Sy’s life principles have helped him navigate the country’s business landscape.
On recognizing opportunities and discipline
Kea International supplies SM Store with eco-friendly baskets and home accessories.
Established in 2010, Kea was mainly a food exporter, but seeing the opportunities in the handicraft industry, the company shifted to producing baskets, storages, gift boxes, furniture, wood crafts and home accessories. The Philippines is the world’s second largest producer of handicrafts.
Kea’s partnership and growth with SM started with a presentation of their Buri Hamper set, made from eco-friendly Buri materials, which back then was selling for less than a hundred pieces per year and now being bought in thousands.
“I know many entrepreneurs who improved their standards of living by supplying to SM. Orders from SM have brought livelihood to the weavers of Pampanga and Pangasinan where we have satellite warehouses. There are definitely challenges while growing, but SM is always there to help and to explain. The company taught me the importance of efficiency and discipline,” shares Kea International owner Eloisa Flores-Bautista.
Just like Sy, Bautista has seen how lives can be changed for the better by simply recognizing opportunities and having the confidence to go after them.
On optimism and confidence
Homecare Contractor, Inc. owner Roberto Arias (3rd from left) with his staff.
12-year old Henry Sy, Sr. started his journey with only 10 centavos in 1936. Through working on his dreams, he was able to grow it into what SM is now.
Corie Rodriguez, owner of Perissos, started her business at a 6 sqm lot in Tondo, Manila in 1992. Through optimism and creativity, she was able to grow her company and now has a 2,000 sqm lot in Marikina. Rodriguez attributes Perissos’ growth to the excellent relationship she has with SM saying, “Di ba lumalaki si SM abot hanggang probinsya, kasama kami dun.”
Perissos produces wooden kitchen wares including knife holders, mug holders, plate racks, and chopping boards.
Patt-Marie-Paul Trading is a small company that produces and distributes decorative pillows, headrests, and neck cushions.
According to owner Deanna Catuncan, SM always wanted new and exciting products. “Our small company obliged, and everything took off. Our partnership with them is more than just a client/retail distributor one. Knowing that whatever tough times the economy will encounter, SM will remain steadfast and stand tall to cater the needs of both the suppliers and customers. It is like a family.”
On integrity, passion, and vision
Fibrefill owner David Lim with his employees during an SMX exhibit.
“If you want to make it big in retail, where do you sell?,” Fibrefill Manufacturing, Inc. (FMI) owner David Lim asked rhetorically.
FMI is one of the major pillow and linen suppliers in the country and has five nonwoven lines and pillow and linen production located in a 1.3-hectare land.
Being SM Store’s supplier of different types of pillows and linens, Lim candidly answered his question, “We have been growing steadily because of the growth of SM.”
Starting with 80 employees in 1989, and now with already 150 employees, Lim said that insights and directions from SM have helped them. When the management told Lim that his company needs “to focus on stuffing materials because this is where you are good at. You have to grow. You have to expand. You have to be creative,” Lim hired designers, created a design and development department, and invested in machineries to propel their growth.
In the course of his 27-year-long partnership with SM, Lim said that he salutes the company’s integrity. “Whatever we discussed, sa SM di na nagbabago. Kung ano sabihin nila matutupad. In turn, we also abide by what they ask of us. Nandun ang mutual trust.”
This echoes what Sy once said, “In life and in business, you need to be good-hearted and trustworthy. This is the way to build long-term relationships.”
“Hangang hanga ako kasi yung mga boss pa rin pumipili ng sampling (of products for display at the SM Store). Nandun pa rin yung passion nila sa mga products. The management even knows each supplier,” Lim shares.
According to him, this is how the sampling of products work at SM even from way back, “I am very aware of the style of the sampling. From what I heard, Tatang knows what he wants. Meron lang siyang pencil, ituturo niya, eto gusto ko, eto ayaw ko.”
In Sy’s life principles, integrity comes with passion, long-term vision and strategy.
On building an organization
Joyce and Diana Worldwide Inc. currently has more than 900 Filipino regular employees.
This is the 10th year since Joyce and Diana Worldwide, Inc., the Philippines’ biggest bed and bath linen manufacturer, entered the SM Store.
For Wai Lok Fung, part of the second generation of the family business, partnering with SM in 2012 gave them the opportunity to expand fast. “Whenever SM opens a new store, we also open a new store with our product, promodizers and factory workers. At SM, collections are also always on time. We were never paid late. This is very important to keep us going. Every peso we can collect matters.”
When the pandemic happened in 2020, all businesses took a hit including Joyce and Diana.
“Our parents reminded us that we cannot retrench employees because they have been with us 10 years or more,” shares Fung.
This sentiment was what also SM made them feel. “The owners really treasure not only the business or the profit, but to make sure that we are doing well as a supplier.”
On social responsibility and providing employment
Bright Ideas Candles
Thirty kilometers, going up the mountains of Antipolo, there’s a small farm in Brgy. Boso Boso where women and housewives are creating scented candles that will soon find their way into the SM Store.
These are Bright Ideas scented candles from Finishing Touches owned by husband and wife Leo and Sally Adriano. They have been in partnership with SM since 1999.
According to Leo Adriano, they were able to grow as a company because they were able to “ride the wave of expansion of SM. We are very fortunate that as a small company, SM gave us the boost, and the vote of confidence to supply. Mag asawa lang kami, and we had a small growing family. That time we were just happy to be able to say that we are supplying SM.”
Partnering with SM also allowed the couple to provide opportunities to a lot of people. Adriano said that from a two-person business they now have over a hundred employees. “It’s heartwarming to see them grow with the company. Marami na sa kanila nakapagpatapos na ng anak.”
For Adriano, “SM helped us professionalize and establish systems because they themselves have a high degree of professionalism. Everytime a mall opens, we see TSC (Tessie Sy-Coson), Mr. Harley, and Mr. Hans. They’re there. At one mall opening, Mr. Hans was the one handling baskets to people who were shopping. We have high regard for the Sy family since they are still in touch with the consignors, with the market and it gives us something to emulate in our small way. They are an inspiration to smaller players. They gave us an opportunity even if we are just small.”
Already innovative and opportunity-seeking, what small enterprises need is a platform to showcase their products and services. Home to MSMEs is what SM has become, just like what its founder has envisioned.
Sy’s life principles live on because there will always be dreamers like him.
“As I move on in life and work on more dreams, I have realized something – there is no limit to what we can do.”
ADVT.