PhilFAQS

Ever meet this man?  I haven’t, although I hope to some day soon.  I’m taking a slight departure here from my usual "Real Filipinos" features and profiling someone most of us will never meet but a man who has had more influence on today’s Philippines than virtually any other Filipino you can name.

Henry Sy was born in China in 1926 and came to the Philippines before World War II.  In 1946 he opened a little shop in Quaipo where he sold shoes … cheap shoes … and at a discount from other cheap shoe stores.  What a recipe for disaster I can hear many "knowledgeable" readers thinking out loud.  geez, Filipinos don’t wear shoes, and for those who do, ‘cheap’ is a way of life.  "cheap" means poor quality and for the business caught in the discount spiral, poor profit margins and not much room to grow.

For those who still haven’t figured out who this man is … let me give you a clue.  henry called his store Shoe Mart … and he did everything it took to make the business grow.  he even made his own buying trips to China and brought stock back with him in the early days.

"Shoe Mart’ is an OK name for a business, but not one that really stands out in people’s minds, so over the years the name became shortened.  It’s proper name is now SM Holdings.  And yes, that is the SM that you all have visited or are going to visit if you come to the Philippines, or even China and perhaps other countries where SM is expanding.

Henry Sy is not the richest man in the world, by any means.  On Forbe’s latest lists, though, he ranks around 435 …with at least a billion and half dollar net worth.

Henry did not come from money, like other rich families such as the Ayala’s, the Lopez’s, the Arroyo’s’, etc.  He didn’t own huge land holdings dating from the Spanish days or wasn’t one of the fortunate few with pre-war holdings who reaped a big harvest during the heady days of post-US independence times when there was no Japan to speak of and China, Indonesia and Vietnam were still reeling from Japanese occupation.  He had no education to speak of  … he has little now, a 2 year associates degree from the 1950’s I believe is all.  Just another immigrant "InChick" boy.

Henry just applied the basic principles of business and worked.  Day in an day out.  As little as 8 years ago I learned of plans to build an SM mall near my in-laws home in Bulacan.  The "expert" opinion?  Oh, that will never come to anything, that SM company is "no good", they borrow too much money."

Here’s most of Henry’s holdings, including that mall that would never make it … there are more but I haven’t had time to update the map.

What makes Henry Sy different than most other "real Filipinos"?  I have never heard him quoted as speaking the words "If only".  Who can be the next Henry Sy?

Related posts:

1. Who Are The Real Filipinos — Part 7
2. Who Are The Real Filipinos, Anyway? Part 5
3. Who Are The Filipinos, Anyway? Part 4
4. They Say You Can’t Do Business In The Phils — Don’t Tell Henry Sy
5. Real World Business — Running An Internet Cafe — Part 2

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