In 1955 Jovita Buhain’s Rex Book Store, which was then engaged in the importation, distribution and retail of books, stood across Juanito Fontelera’s New Republic Bookstore that sold secondhand books, along the old Azcarraga Street, now Claro M. Recto Street, in the University Belt area in Manila.
Buhain and Fontelera shared the passion for books, wit and entrepreneurial skills that eventually led to their marriage and gave birth to the present-day Rex Book Store Inc. that specializes in the publication of law books.
Today, after more than six decades in business against several odds and challenges, and now being managed by the third-generation member of the founders, Rex Book Store Inc. continues to thrive in a country that has a low appreciation for reading, and the onset of the digital age.
Jeanne Marie Fontelera-Tordesillas, managing director for office of the strategy management, business development and marketing for Rex Book Store, told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview that the business has become sustainable because it has put premium on children’s education. “If you go deeper in the business, you will know why we are here. It is because of the children,” she pointed out.
The company’s mission-vision is aptly stated in their slogan “Tayong lahat, kapit-bisig, para sa bata, para sa bayan,” which was developed by an executive committee composed of veteran and young executives. Tordesillas said the total development of the child is anchored on the concept developed by ASCD, or Association for Supervision and Curriculun Development, that ensures all children are healthy, safe, engaged in learning, supported by caring adults and academically challenged.
Founded in 1943, ASCD is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents more than 114,000 educators from more than 127 countries, including 57 affiliate organizations. For Rex Book Store, the goal is to mold the children and the youth to be learned and relevant so they will be able to contribute to the growth of their families, community and the nation. When Rex Book Store celebrated its 65th anniversary three years ago, the management realized they have to revisit the mission-vision statement.
“We had a series of soul-searching sessions because we agreed that we cannot go another 60 years of existence asking why we are doing this. It is now the turn of the third and succeeding generations, hopefully, to carry on the tasks,” Tordesillas said. “It is also unfair to our founders if we haven’t done some innovations for Rex Book Store,” she added.
In a fiercely competitive world, Tordesillas said, Rex Book Store Learning Solutions wants to help Filipinos to develop and build their skills to enhance their competitiveness and be on a par with their global counterparts.
In a Third World country like the Philippines, Rex Book Store Learning Solutions has a special role to play in developing the welfare and education of the children, providing tools for students, such as materials in mathematics, science and English. “It is about the product the learner needs to survive, to be able to compete in a fast-changing world,” she said.
From law books to textbooks
Rex started in the business with the traditional textbooks. Lawyer Dominador Buhain became Rex Book Store’s first officer in charge and sales agent, together with Chino Febre. It was in the 1960s when Rex Book Store started to expand its market. From law books, it began to venture into elementary and high-school textbooks.
The Family continued to expand the market for Rex Book Store and, at the same time, traveled overseas to bring in new wisdom, ideas, and views to develop the business. The closing of the 1960s, however, turned into tragedy when their store was razed by fire.
Nevertheless, the Family managed to gather their will to stand up and move on after finding a single unblemished book left by the fire: a book entitled Jesus, Save Me.
Despite the challenges such as the declaration of martial law and several labor strikes that the company faced, Rex Book Store continued to thrive. Facilities were expanded and modernized. And in just over 30 years and two generations, Rex Book Store spread its wings and went nationwide.
Iluminada Meru’s book, entitled Sanayang-Aklat Para sa Paghahanda sa Pagbasa sa Kindergarten, was among the books published in the same decade.
Legal Forms, Annotated by Sulpicio Guevara was one of the first law books produced by Rex Book Store Inc. Unlike other form books published before, it was flexible and suitable for any given case or situation. It was written to guide law practitioners, students and business executives on how to write different legal forms. It was their guide and aligned with the vision of the company because the essence of Rex Book Store’s existence was the learner. It should start and end with the child.
Rex Book Store Learning Solutions recognizes the impact of e-books and digital technology in the current learning environment. Nevertheless, Tordesillas will not just join the bandwagon for the sake of keeping up with the trend.
“We produce materials for the benefit of the learner. Rex produces e-books because the learner is dynamic,” she said.
The 1990s saw the expansion of Rex Book Store. Led by Don Timothy Buhain, chief operating officer and a member of the third generation of the family, and supported by Director for Publishing Danda Buhain-Garcia, the company expanded, not only in business but also with the advocacies they supported. In 1994 the Rex Oasis of Arts and Culture Foundation was formed. This time around, the people behind Rex Book Store advocated the preservation of Filipino cultural heritage and support for artistically gifted Filipinos. With a global culture emerging, this would be the only way that Filipinos could offer something truly unique to the world.
To be on a par with the competition and continue to be relevant, Rex Book Store entered the digital age with the presence of Rex Interactive and Rex Publishing online. Moreover, Rex Book Store International was incorporated in 2005 to respond to international business ventures. Rex Book Store became the sole distributor of Teacher Created Materials—a trusted resource from kinder to Grade 12 educators in over 92 countries.
Diversified titles from different product lines were also produced at the start of the 21st century. In this decade, Roger John Fontelera and Tordesillas joined Rex Book Store to head Finance and Marketing, respectively.
In light of technological advances and the prevalent use of the Internet, Rex Digital was established in 2012. Rex Digital enhances student learning by providing better engagement, stronger collaboration, simplified instruction, and unified communication between educators and students. Three years later, in 2015, the Resource for Educators and Academic Professionals was launched. As a center for learning, REAP provides educator trainings and has a training center that can be rented by the public.
A year later, in 2016, the Rex Institute for Student Excellence was established to assist educational institutions and teachers in using assessment and research toward the achievement of students’ learning goals.