Q1: Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of Gingersnaps! What was your inspiration when you first launched a fashionable children’s wear and maternity wear business? We always loved kids, so it came very naturally for us to do something that involved kids. At that time, there was an absence of fashionable children’s and maternity clothing. We wanted to change the way […]
interviews
Q1: You have been importing medicines for decades. What made you decide to open a retail network via franchising all of a sudden? What was the inspiration? A1: In early 2000, physicians from PGH would recommend their patients to our office in Quezon Avenue, but since we are in the business of wholesale, unfortunately, we cannot sell retail to these […]
Q1: Hyundai Philippines is a latecomer in the Philippine automotive industry and is now in the top three, this in spite of some out of stocks situations. Please share what were the strategies you successfully adopted to attain accelerated growth? First, we prepared by understanding the market. And I do not mean churning out very complicated insights about the market, […]
Q1: When you started Summit Media in 1995, your glossy, higher priced magazines became the new industry standard. What was your insight behind the new concept or what inspired you to tackle something different? Did you have a back up plan if it had not succeeded? In 1995, when we launched Preview, our first title, the magazine industry was dominated […]
Q1: Your are part of the Rocket ecommerce group where your business model is about being a ‘Fast Second’ in concept but operate in emerging countries, how better or different do you tweak the original concept to suit the countries you operate? (Note to readers: “Fast Second” is a concept that discussed those who are not the originators but who […]
Q1: As a retail expert, who are the top 3 retailers you admire most and why? Locally, Rustan’s, SM, and Bench. These homegrown brands all had humble beginnings and through the years have grown tremendously through constant evolution while remaining true to their brand essence, DNA, and heritage. Rustan’s represents quality, service, and world-class products and experiences. It has defined […]
Q1: What are some of the most often made mistakes companies do in social media marketing? For me, the biggest mistake is mismanagement of expectations. In my experience, most brands use social media to collect fans, and use the number of likes or followers as the metric of success. Then, they evaluate ROI of social media through sales, which in […]
Q1: Why do you use Chief Evangelizing Officer as your position title in your company? What is your “evangelizing” mission? Your goal is not simply to make a sale today, you want to invite your customers to join you in your cause… your mission. In our case, more fun in the beach with Beach Hut Sunblock or making sure your […]
Q1: In the diaper business, you have overtaken P&G in terms of market share nationwide since 2012, how long did it take you to take the lead and what was the tipping point? Can you share the strategy (and phases if any) behind EQ? ECG: It was a long process of adjusting to the needs of the market and to […]
Q1: Bayad Center, as a bill payment center, was set up because you had to address unremitted collections and increasing cost of collection (hold ups of Meralco electric bill collectors, delayed remittance, etc). How serious was this situation then or what was the tipping point that caused the creation of the Bayad centers? Have you attained your goals why Bayad […]