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Henry Sy
Sr. is a patriot.
Webster’s Third International Dictionary defines a
patriot as: 1. a fellow countryman; and 2. a person who
loves his country and defends and promotes its
interests; esp. : a soldier who fights for love of
country.
Sy, 82,
fits both definitions—a fellow countryman and a person
who loves his country. He bears no arm, but his weapon
is more powerful—investments—and the war he wages no
less significant than those fought by soldiers—the fight
against poverty, the battle for his country’s
prosperity. His malls and other businesses like tourist
facilities and a bank provide jobs to thousands and
create other businesses that also generate employment
for thousands of other Filipinos in Metro Manila and key
cities in the provinces.
The
Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) last year named
Sy as the “Father of Philippine Retail” and presented
him with the group’s first President’s Award in
recognition of his vision in retail merchandising and
his innovations in the industry.
PRA
president Mars Chua said, “As retailers, we have all
benefited from the establishment of malls in the
country. Success stories of entrepreneurs abound as
their businesses grew with the growth of malls.”
Chua
added: “His contributions to Philippine retailing and
the country as a whole—to creating over a million jobs,
to raising people’s aspirations and levels of
sophistication abreast with international tastes and
standards—are truly remarkable.”
SM malls
serve as a concrete testimony that the Philippines is a
good place to do business, thus attracting foreign
investors, like computer giant Dell of the US.
Because
of that, the Philippine Graphic has chosen Henry Sy Sr.
as “Man of the Year” for 2007.
Every
day an average of 2.5 million people go to any of the 29
SM malls. During the first nine months of 2006, the
chain sold 15.3 million pairs of shoes, so the full-year
figure, which would include purchases during the yearend
holiday season, should easily surpass 20 million pairs.
That’s a
realization of the taipan’s dream. “When I started my
shoe business in 1948, I simply thought that if I could
sell a pair of shoes to each of the 17 million Filipinos
then, that would make me a good businessman,” he tells
the Graphic.
In
December 2006 Forbes Asia magazine named Sy as the
richest Filipino, with an estimated net worth of $4
billion.
Sy was
not born with the so-called golden spoon. His wealth is
a product of long years of hard work. “There is no
substitute for hard work,” he stresses. “There is no
such thing as an overnight success or easy money.”
Even his
six children were taught the value of hard work, so
there is no spoiled brat in the brood—Teresita,
Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley. “My
children were growing up at the same time my business
was starting, so they had exposure to it early on in
life,” the elder Sy relates.
“I also
instilled in them the importance of good values in
business—hard work, determination, integrity and
optimism,” he adds. “I call them my teammates, and they
have each developed their own areas of expertise in the
business.”
Teresita
is vice chairman of SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the
primary investment vehicle of the Sy group. She is also
executive vice president of SM Prime Holdings, the mall
developer and operator, and member of the executive
committee of SM Development Corp., the group’s property
construction arm.
Sy’s
eldest daughter is expected to take the chairmanship of
Banco de Oro once its merger with Equitable PCIBank is
completed.
Henry Sy
Jr. holds the same positions as his sister in SMIC and
SM Prime. He is the vice chairman and chief executive
officer of SM Development Corp.
Harley
is the president of SMIC, senior vice president and
treasurer of SM Prime and member of the executive
committee of SM Development Corp.
Hans is
first executive vice president of SMIC and president of
SM Prime.
Herbert
is also first executive vice president of SMIC.
Elizabeth
is treasurer of SMIC and senior vice president for
marketing of SM Prime.
Ultimate
retailer
Henry Sy
has always wanted to become a retailer, and worked hard
to become a successful one. In 1936, at the age of 12,
he came to Manila from Fujian, China, to help run his
father’s grocery in Divisoria. The spartan life of youth
played a big part in molding Sy’s character as a smart
businessman, and that is probably why he is still a
hands-on owner. He regularly visits his malls to check
on how things are running, usually in his trademark
Hawaiian shirts.
Sy
opened the first Shoemart store on Rizal Avenue in
downtown Manila in 1958. He conceptualized a chain of
shoe stores, each characterized by a distinct
merchandising layout never before attempted in the
country. In the ’60s the company expanded its shoe store
chain. It was one of the pioneers in the new urban
centers when it opened bigger shoe stores at the Makati
Commercial Center in 1953 and in Cubao in 1967.
“We
planned to grow, and first evolved from a shoe store to
a chain of department stores,” he recalls. “We later
thought of putting up shopping malls—a concept that I
had seen in the
United States—to
house our stores and serve our customers better.”
Shoemart
marked its shift from a shoe store to a full-line
department store in the early ’70s with SM Echague, and
followed by SM Makati in 1975. At that time, Shoemart
became known as SM Shoemart, or simply SM, a name that
is now synonymous with one-stop shopping excitement.
During
the ’80s SM positioned itself for growth, diversifying
into the supermarket and appliance store businesses. SM
City North Edsa, the first shopping mall, opened in
1985, a turbulent period in Philippine politics. Since
then, SM emerged as the leading player in the shopping
center business, a position that remains unthreatened by
other players that came later, giving rise to the
malling phenomenon in the country.
“We
value the leadership we have achieved in the mall
industry,” Sy stresses. “Nurturing the twin values of
vision and innovation, we consider each Supermall as a
unique member in our network. Each affords us a chance
to learn more about our consumer base and
management—always focusing on how best we can enhance
the SM Supermall experience for our stakeholders.”
He adds:
“We constantly look forward to the challenges that
arise, while always holding true to the values [the
company] had been built on: steadfast vision, sound
innovation.”
Today,
Sy continues to be active in the business as chairman of
the group’s key companies, with his six children as well
as with professional executives in his publicly listed
companies. SMIC made history in 2005 when it was listed
in the Philippine Stock Exchange, the biggest initial
public offering in the exchange’s 70-year history.
He is
also chairman of Shoemart Inc., which handles the
group’s retail business; SM Prime Holdings, which owns
and operates the country’s largest group of supermalls,
as well as in companies involved in real estate and
tourism—SM Development Corp,, First Asia Development
Corp. and Highlands Prime Leisure Properties Inc. Sy is
also chairman emeritus of Banco de Oro (BDO) Universal
Bank.
The Sy
family controls BDO China Banking Corp. and has a
$2.6-billion stake in BDO, China Bank and Equitable
PCIBank. Sy recently bought the remaining 66 percent of
EPCI, the
Philippines’
third-largest lender in which he already had a
34-percent stake and would soon merge it with BDO. The
merger would create the
Philippines’
largest financial institution.
Sy also
owns 12 percent of San Miguel Corp., Southeast Asia’s
biggest food and beverage conglomerate, at an estimated
worth of $500 million.
In 1999
the Makati Business Club named Sy “Management Man of the
Year.” In January of the same year, he was conferred an
honorary doctorate in business management by De La Salle
University-Manila.
He
organized the SM Foundation Inc., which helps
underprivileged but promising young Filipinos. |
