Shoemart: Henry Syâs story from Rags to Riches
Nouveau Riche is better than no riche at all.
For six decades, SM is the face of the nationâs prime retail, housing, banking and property development. SM founder Henry Syâs shares his story from rags to riches. Unlike few filipino billionaires, Syâs story truly started from the bottom.
Born as âSy Chi Siengâ in a small village in southern China on December 25, 1932 to a poor family, it is very evident that early on from childhood, Henry inspired to follow his fatherâs footsteps of escaping poverty and worked hard to alleviate his familyâs life.
Henry Sy came to the Philippines at the young age of 12. He worked in his fatherâs small sari-sari store more than 12 hours everyday to help him. It was located on Echague St., which is now Carlos Palanca Sr. St. in Quiapo, Manila.Â
The Sy family then lived there, he devised ways to increase his income by developing small portions of products â much like the sachets we see today in the supermarkets. Henry started his studies at Anglo-Chinese School in Quiapo at the age of twelve where he also struggled to learn English.
According to his accounts, He would also buy goods from the infamous âDivisoriaâ flea market. The goods that he bought would be carried on his back and sell them in his fatherâs small (sari-sari) store. When they close for the night, they would both sleep inside that small space until all their hard labor eventually earned them a better way of life.
On December 8 1941, just ten hours after the Imperial Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched a surprise invasion on the Philippine islands. The countryâs economy collapsed shortly after. Henry Syâs father and family retreated back to China in fear of danger but Henry stayed.Â
Henry started his own store selling shoes in Marikina.
After the war on 1946, Henry began venturing to american brands of shoes. He sooner learned the value of partners and friendship, not later he was already managing three shoe stores in Manila.
He have always had the pleasure of a growing family while at the same time pursuing studies at FEU in the early 50s, he sought more ways to augment his income. He studied the market and decided to be different. While other young men went to the US to pursue a higher education, he went on a long business trip to the East Coast, and came home with a lot of merchandising ideas. For a time, he was selling a lot of shoes, accessories, and leather goods, hoping to change the way shoe manufacturers look at the industry.
It was at 1949 where his store burned down. He was able to loan a capital from China bank and used it to rebuild his business. And to improve his skills in the buy and sell industry, he decided to enroll at Far Eastern University in 1950 taking up a degree in Associate in Arts in Commercial Studies. He changed his legal name to Henry Sy upon acquiring his Philippine citizenship. After two years, he had to give up his studies so he could focus on his business.He married a Chinese immigrant who changed her legal name to Felicidad upon acquiring her Filipino citizenship and they had six children. They both converted to Catholicism due to the strong Filipino influence.
Henry Syâs first generation of family along with foreign friends and investors.
Daughter Teresita Sy-Coson reccounts the moment her father decided to open the very first SM, âSensing a lot of opportunities, he decided to open SHOE MART â âSMâ â the first air-conditioned shoe store that merchandised shoes in a very inviting and classy format. With the success of that store, he went on to open more shoe stores, but he could not get enough suppliers.Many shoe manufacturers at that time could not understand why they had to listen to this shoe retailer who had very definite ideas on what he wanted to sell. They did not cooperate by providing him with the volume he needed, and because of that limitation, he gradually shifted to apparel â and thereafter other merchandise â with the help of my mother.He was continuously learning from his customers, suppliers, and employees. This on-the-job research gave him enough confidence to expand to a department store chain. Many things in life grow out of needs, and to meet the needs, you become determined. With determination you will take extra challenges and do things differently â which will most likely bring success.â
In 1972, Shoemart Manila on Calle Echague was transformed into the first of Mr. Syâs department stores. The opening of the department store, SM Makati in 1975 was a accompanied by a dramatic corporate rebranding where Mr. Syâs stores would be rechristened as SM from SM Department Store.
In 1978, SM Cubao opened, tapping into the large pedestrian population of that area.
In 1985, despite minor setbacks the natural progression of store to mall happened when Mr. Sy opened his first mall on EDSA in November 1985. SM North EDSA, a 125,000 square meter-mall, opened at a time when the country was plunged into one of the most turbulent periods of political history. SM Supermarket also became one of the anchor stores in SM North EDSA alongside SM Department Store.
In 1994, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. was incorporated to become the vehicle for SM's mall operations. It went public this year to enhance its funding capabilities and increase SM Prime's growth momentum in mall development.
It was finally in 2006 when SM Mall of Asia, SM Prime's flagship and the country's largest mall back then, was opened fronting the scenic Manila Bay in Pasay City. The mall was the anchor development in the 60-hectare reclaimed property now known as the Mall of Asia Complex. Later in the year, SM bought a majority stake in Equitable PCI Bank and merged it with BDO. This year saw the acquisition of the supermarket and hypermarket businesses by SM from the Sy family.
With all his achievements, Mr. Sy have collected awards, including Management Man of the Year by Makati Business Club in 1999, Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La Salle University in January 1999, 40 Richest Filipinos of 2008-2016, Forbes magazine Heroes of Philanthropy, and he was the 1st Chinese-Filipino recipient of the PRA President Award (2005).
Was it just pure luck or a fruit of labor? Maybe both, with this, Mr. Sy was able to give as a very concrete example of the saying; if there is a will, there is a way.
Gokongwei, Zobel de Ayala, Consuji and Sy, what do these men have in common? They all have achieved great success despite being cast away from different lands and pursued their dream to make it big here in the Philippines.
Henry Sy shares: âThere is no such thing as overnight success or easy money. If you fail, do not be discouraged; try again. When you do well, do not change your ways. Success is not just good luck: it is a combination of hard work, good credit standing, opportunity, readiness and timing. Success will not last if you do not take care of it.â
Henry Sy is truly a shinning beacon of inspiration to all aspiring entrepreneurs and filipinos alike.