spot_img
28.6 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Patriotism and gratitude

- Advertisement -

"John Gokongwei Jr. was a tycoon who exemplified these virtues."

 

 

The late John Gokongwei Jr. always reminded his daughter Robina G. Pe., the president and CEO of Robinson’s Retail Holding, Inc., that one has to work hard in order to eat. Perhaps not conscious that the adage was lifted from an old Marxist saying, it is nonetheless true that industry reaps its own reward.

One needs only to look at things positively. Good attitude provides a built-in incentive for success. He said, “Successes and failures are all part of life. Forget failures. Take them in stride and let them make you stronger.   However, if something is likely to succeed, then pour all your energy and resources and focus to make success a reality.”  

It is this formula coupled with a sense of practicality and determination that made him a leading tycoon.  In a full-page tribute, it described John as an industrialist, a philanthropist and a game changer. The brief description is most fitting because it gives us an idea who he is, that what he achieved transcends to what is expected from one deeply engrossed in business.  He was an industrialist because he contributed, in his own way, to industrialize the country. He was not just contented in being a trader. He wanted to go into manufacturing, which he knows is the foundation in establishing an industrial base. He was a farsighted and out-of-the-box businessman.  

- Advertisement -

His first brush with the business titans was his bid for a board seat at San Miguel.   Many noticed there was in him a hue of patriotism and love of country when he observed that many Filipinos are sending their money out of the country. As Filipino, he felt our money must be invested here. That was when he decided to purchase shares in the Philippines’ biggest corporations. The defeat marked the turning point in his determination to deviate from stereotype business tradition.   He founded the JG Summit Petrochemical Corp. in 1994. In 2006, JGSPC opened the Philippines’ first Naphtha Cracker Plant and simultaneously expanded the Polymers Plant.  Commercial operation of the newly expanded JG Summit Petrochemicals Group started in November 2014. JG Summit Olefins Corp. produced ethylene, propylene, pyrolysis gasoline, mixed C4 and other by-products. 

Another was the establishment of Handyman, a Robinson’s Retail Holdings, Inc. specializing in the sale of miscellaneous hand tools and equipment.  It was neither a hardware nor a construction supply but one that would cater to the day-to-day needs of people for ordinary household repairs usually by themselves.  The two companies reflect the thinking of the man not to depend on the supply for all his needs. Either he has to do it or produce his own. 

It was also mentioned that John was a game changer meaning that in business, there are implied norms one must observed to reach the top.  He introduced businesses that challenged existing practices, compelling the rest to follow his rather orthodox approach. It may not be by the principle of survival of the fittest but by the value of frugality.    When his father died at the age of 13, he practically had only 10 centavos in his pocket. That probably forced John to value every centavo he earns. With three feet by two feet stall in the market, he would wake up at 5 o’clock to buy goods he can sell.  Every day he earned about P20 in profit. That was more than enough to feed his family and kept the rest to allow him to plough it back as added capital, always having in mind of letting the business grow slowly but surely. 

It was the circumstance of suddenly waking up without money that forced him to cherish the virtue of frugality.  Yet, while keeping on to that idealism, he was determined to break that cycle of being trapped in the drab and routine life of business.  He always wanted to introduce innovations that would benefit first and foremost the customers through reduced prices, and recognize their need for  it as a necessity. He called this the challenge in life. The incident where he failed to get a board seat at San Miguel by the decision of the Supreme Court became a defining moment in his life.    

He took it as a challenge to operate an airline to compete the near monopoly of Philippine Airlines. The eye-opener was the privatization of PAL. His theory was simple—reducing air fares to allow ordinary people to travel by air. The introduction of Cebu Pacific drastically changed the view of air travel to one of necessity. Cebu Pacific made possible the reduction of fare with the introduction of no-frills, no hot meals and no newspaper amenities.   After all, airlines only guarantee safe and timely arrival. Easily Cebu Pacific got what airline commuters wanted. Today, Cebu Pacific flies more than five million passengers, with over 120 daily flights to 20 local destinations and 12 Asian cities.  It is now the largest in terms of domestic fights and destinations, and is hoping to reduce the ratio of average Filipino who can afford to fly from the current 12 to one to a ratio of 6 to 1. 

Gokongwei dared to venture into the well-entrenched mobile phone in 2003 when he established the Digitel Mobile Philippines bearing the brand of Sun Cellular.  The concept was simple—offer to cell phone users “call and text” as much as they want for a fixed monthly fee of P250. This means great savings of as much as 2/3 of their regular phone bills. It immediately gained traction upon introduction to the market. Sun reached one million customers causing a paradigm shift in the telecoms industry. Now, Sun has 4 million subscribers and 2,000 cell sites around the archipelago. In a country where 97 percent of the market is pre-paid, it rightly hit the target.     

Universal Robina Corp. introduced the green tea mixed with brown sugar as local beverage.  It was a gamble, considering that the country has a cola drinking population more and that Filipinos often start their day drinking hot coffee instead of tea. The marketing strategy was unique.  C-2 was marketed as “spa” in a bottle to refresh as it cools and cleanse the body. Three years after it was launched, Filipinos drank around 30 million bottles per month, showing great indication that Filipinos are slowly shifting  away from the traditional cola drinks acknowledged as a formidable challenge. C2 is now selling three-million bottles a month in Vietnam only after six months of market introduction. Because it sees bright prospect, C2 will soon launch to other South East Asian markets.  Even its Jack and Jill potato chips brand is slowly eroding a big chunk of the once American-dominated market product.          

If there is anything that remains unmatched in the volume of values to the legacy left by John Gokongwei, Jr., it is his acknowledgement that life has been good to him, and wants to give back the blessings he received.   On the occasion of his 80th birthday coinciding with the holding of the company’s 50th anniversary, he donated half his fortune—at least P20 billion—to charity.   The first recipient was his alma mater, San Carlos University in Cebu, which received P50 million for its new Gokongwei School of Engineering.  

It is estimated that the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation has donated around P400 million in the last five years and more are coming in the years to come.  As Filipinos, we are proud of him for his unparalleled philanthropic work. There was in him a deep sense of gratitude that as a Filipino of Chinese descent, he imparted to us love of country and to always look back and be grateful to where one comes from, something that every rich Filipino must emulate by heart and soul. 

rpkapunan@gmail.com

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles