MANILA , Philippines - Twenty years ago, people thought Cecilio Pedro was crazy for competing head-on with global toothpaste brands Colgate and Close Up.
Now, Hapee toothpaste tubes and sachets are selling like hotcakes in the Philippines , making his company, Lamoiyan Corp., the country's first homegrown toothpaste empire.
"Fighting multinationals was very tough. At first, everyone thought I was crazy. They told me, how will I survive this? True enough, it's by the grace of God that I'm still here in the toothpaste industry after 20 years. God is good," Pedro shared with abs-cbnNEWS.com.
As of last year, Pedro said Hapee soared to number 2 in many areas of the Philippines, it is a solid third in Mindanao as Lamoiyan still has to untangle distribution problems, but the toothpaste brand no doubt has penetrated the market and is now a serious threat to its foreign competitors.... Read More
Wash wants you to believe that he is (as the title of his biography modestly suggests) only a Bookkeeper. But just how many bookkeepers do you know that co-founded SyCip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV) — the country’s and Asia’s largest and most prestigious accounting and consulting firm, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) — one of the premiere business schools in Asia, and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) — the largest corporate-led social development foundation in the country? And that’s just for starters.
For those who have had a chance to speak with Wash, you will soon realize why this “bookkeeper” probably has no need for a computer — because he appears to have one built directly into this head.... Read More
1. Mr. John began peddling soap, thread and candles at age 15. His day began at five in the morning — he biked to neighboring towns to sell his goods. On market days, he rented a stall, laid out the goods from the bike, and made about P20 a day, enough for him to survive and to buy even more goods for next time. He called those days his Bicycle Age.
2. After two years of biking and peddling, at 17, he entered his Batel Age. The batel was a small, very utilitarian boat that defied the open sea and took him farther from Cebu, all the way to Lucena, from where he took a truck to Manila, with companions twice or thrice his age. The sea trips took two to three weeks depending on the weather, and the land trips another five to six hours. On the batel, he read books like Gone with the Wind under the great blue sky to pass the time. ... Read More
1. John is very proud that he is the oldest son of the oldest son of the Go patriarch who came to the Philippines from Kengdong Village in Jinjiang , China in the late 19th century. The patriarch, Pedro Gotiaoco, was born June 30, 1856. Pedro’s oldest son was Go Chiong Ut, whose oldest son was John Gokongwei Sr., whose oldest son was John Gokongwei Jr., whose oldest and only son is Lance. John reveres his ancestors so much that his year, when the Chinese government decided to exhume the remains of his great grandfather Pedro who was buried in Jinjiang, John had the remains transferred to the family mausoleum at Manila Memorial Park, along with the remains of his father John Sr., who was then buried in Cebu. Last June 26, 150 descendants of Pedro Gotiaoco attended the re-internment rites for Pedro and John Sr.... Read More
For Andrew Tan, born in 1952 (Year of the Dragon) to poor Chinese immigrant parents Tan Ha and Soonti Lim, money was hard to come by. He spent his childhood in Sta. Cruz, Manila — the local Chinatown — and finished his formative years at Far Eastern University. To secure a better future for him and his family, he studied Accounting at the University of the East and graduated magna cum laude. To make the proverbial ends meet, he walked to school instead of taking the public ride. But the young, intrepid Andrew dreamed big (or should we say tall) and worked harder than most to make his dreams come true.
Rising above life’s harsh realities, Tan now sits on top of a real estate, liquor, and fast-food conglomerate.... Read More
I have many favorite images of Ben Chan on my mind.
One is a scene I still vividly remember when his mother died in 2003.There, in a vast airy memorial garden just before her burial, the silence of sadness was broken only by the shrill cry of a chicken from which blood was being drawn—a symbolic funeral rite. I looked at the face of Ben, and I saw his saddest face ever, his eyes moist with pain.This is a man filled with filial piety and love.
In stark contrast, I remember a funny Ben Chan trying to keep his balance atop a camel in Egypt in 2005, wearing a silly hat just like the rest of us newsgirls out for a zany photo-op with the great pyramid in the background.... Read More
He arrived on time. The conference table was neatly accessorized with a tumbler filled with perfectly sharpened Mongol pencils, a cup of tea with a service of milk and sugar, and a glass bowl filled with Mentos candies. I wanted a Mentos badly. I resisted the urge to pick one up as the country’s most prolific and powerful business figure sat across me.
A firm handshake and kind eyes greeted me. It was Ramon Ang.
“I Googled you,” I told him. On the web I found his impressive grocery list of companies, flattering words from damning opinion writers and images of him shot by professional photographers.
Aside from that nothing more came out. “I don’t really like interviews because they can court intrigue,” he said as he popped a Mentos. ... Read More
Wash wants you to believe that he is (as the title of his biography modestly suggests) only a Bookkeeper. But just how many bookkeepers do you know that co-founded SyCip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV) — the country’s and Asia’s largest and most prestigious accounting and consulting firm, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) — one of the premiere business schools in Asia, and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) — the largest corporate-led social development foundation in the country? And that’s just for starters.
1. Mr. John began peddling soap, thread and candles at age 15. His day began at five in the morning — he biked to neighboring towns to sell his goods. On market days, he rented a stall, laid out the goods from the bike, and made about P20 a day, enough for him to survive and to buy even more goods for next time. He called those days his Bicycle Age.
For Andrew Tan, born in 1952 (Year of the Dragon) to poor Chinese immigrant parents Tan Ha and Soonti Lim, money was hard to come by. He spent his childhood in Sta. Cruz, Manila — the local Chinatown — and finished his formative years at Far Eastern University. To secure a better future for him and his family, he studied Accounting at the University of the East and graduated magna cum laude. To make the proverbial ends meet, he walked to school instead of taking the public ride. But the young, intrepid Andrew dreamed big (or should we say tall) and worked harder than most to make his dreams come true.
2010 (14)