Successful Pinoy ventures

Business & Leisure, the television show, has allowed me to get insights into current business issues through our interviews with business leaders as well as ranking government officials. Through B&L too, I have tracked the success stories of many business concerns that started out modestly a decade or so back and has since seen their vision come to reality. The fruition of their dreams and aspirations is inspiring, to say the least, one that makes a country proud of a Filipino brand.

Of these “new” success stories, the Figaro brand comes to mind. By the end of 2014, the company will be transferring to a new location, their very own building in EDSA. The new company headquarters will be ready to take on the challenges of a rapidly expanding company, complete with training rooms for new hires, at a rate that must be dizzying. Quite a big leap from where they are now leasing space.

According to Figaro franchise manager, they will open their Dubai store in December, just in time for the holiday season. While the locals do not celebrate the season, Dubai is home to many expatriates, many of them Americans and Europeans.

The Dubai store, a franchise, is located at the Dubai Miracle Gardens which is between six to eight kilometers away from the city center. They have adopted a kiosk business model for this store which will be between 60-80 sq. meters and can seat between 50-60. By this time the management team will have finalized the store design which is in keeping with the standard Figaro design, and from what I’ve heard, there will be about seven Filipino crew members working there.

In contrast, the Figaro store in Papua, New Guinea has an all-Filipino crew. The franchisee is a Malaysian Chinese based in Papua, and the businessman evidently did his homework well before he opened the store. His market studies showed that specialty coffee shops can only be found in hotels here in Papua, New Guinea, and the idea of an affordable franchise would indeed be very viable. He opened the first Figaro store at the Vision City Mega Mall which became an instant hit, and he now has a second Figaro store at the international airport of the capital city of Port Morisbee.

Figaro is currently operating 80 stores, 73 of which are in the Philippines. Yes, they now have seven international stores: two in China, two in Malaysia (in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur), two in Papua, New Guinea, and one in Dubai. Next year might see them in Guangdong Province in China as they are set to start talks for a possible franchise there. Also in the pipeline are possible franchises in Kuwait, Qatar and the United States, home to such coffee giants as Starbucks.

Figaro has indeed gone global. In their franchising business, the process eliminates the need for the franchisee to send an entire team to the Philippines to train and learn more about the brand. From what I understand, the mother company provides the store manager and senior crew member who will train the local crew in that country, a logistically more sound approach indeed.

Locally, Figaro has been busy in 2013. Their ideal target for the year was to open between 12-18 stores, though so far they have only opened 10, with three more set to open soon. They are now focusing on key cities and will open another one in Cebu, their third store here, at the Gaisano Mactan and also one in Surigao City. Yes, Metro Manila is saturated with specialty coffee shops now and they have all converged in the metro, though from what I see, the market can still take it. Filipinos are such a coffee-loving people, but I guess coffee time is more of a social habit here, especially with the younger generation. Still, many key cities in the south are ready to be conquered by the specialty coffee shops.

18 years and counting

Recently, Enchanted Kingdom celebrated its 18th anniversary with a full weekend of live shows, dance exhibitions, etc. I can’t believe it’s been 18 years, but the theme park is thriving well, judging by the fiesta atmosphere here at any given time. The Filipino has a natural propensity to enjoy with family and friends, and it is on this that Enchanted Kingdom was built.

Building an amusement or theme park as extensive as Enchanted Kingdom necessitates a leap of faith, because previously, the Filipinos only enjoyed amusement parks during the Christmas season. Back then, we had Big Bang sa Alabang and Star City as the biggest, and we used to lug our kids and suffer through the rides every December. The grounds would miraculously clear by the second or third week of January, only to reappear again in early December.

Of Enchanted Kingdom’s 18 years of existence, 15 were most challenging, according to CEO Mario Mamon.  Those 15 years, according to him, were a roller coaster ride, and it was only in the last three years that they have stabilized and affirmed their existence as the only Philippine amusement or theme park that can approximate foreign amusement parks. With their extensive grounds, they have expanded their facilities to encourage families to spend a full weekend at Enchanted Kingdom or a short stay with pleasant accommodations.

Mr. Mario Mamon is the first Asian and first Filipino to become chairman of Enchanted Kingdom. After 15 years of challenges and setbacks, the park continues to grow and is set to reach the two million mark by next year. For now, he says, there are no plans to expand outside of Sta. Rosa, Laguna, but assures everyone that Enchanted Kingdom will continue to improve and grow in the coming years.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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