SM’s Tessie Sy-Coson receives PRA President’s Award

MANILA, Philippines - The SM Group’s Tessie Sy-Coson received the prestigious PRA President’s Award from the Philippine Retailer’s Association in ceremonies held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas Center.

She was recognized as Philippine Retailing’s Woman Visionary Leader for her “insightful vision and commendable leadership at the helm of SM that made it the country’s largest and most consistently successful retail conglomerate in the Philippines,” says PRA president Lorenzo C. Formoso.

 â€œAs one of the proponents of this award, I always advocate to give credit to whom it is due,” says former PRA president Mars Chua. “Like her father, she has received so many recognitions and awards – both international and local – but none from her own peers and from the industry where she started and truly belongs.  She did not only win the award, but deserves it.”

The SM Group received several awards in the 17th Outstanding Filipino Retailers and Shopping Centers of the Year Awards Night:  the Hall of Fame for the SM Store in the Full Line Department Store category; the Foreign Fashion Apparel Award for Forever 21 in the large category; the Foreign Brand Category Killer for ACE Hardware; and the Shopping Center of the Year (Small Category) for SM Center Muntinlupa.

This is the ninth year that the PRA, the largest organization of the country’s top retailers and prime movers in the retail industry, is handing out the President’s award to salute the industry’s leader’s and visionaries who paved the way for this generation of retailers.

Coson’s father, SM founder and chairman Henry Sy Sr. was the first PRA Presidential Awardee, honored as the Father of Philippine Retail. She and her siblings were growing up when their father started his business, and they were involved when they were very young.

Sy instilled in his children the importance of good values in business – hard work, determination, integrity, and optimism.  “But they also have their own instincts and learn very quickly,” he has said. “I call them my teammates and they have developed their own area of expertise in the business.”

Starting out in merchandising in the Makati store, she has contributed much to the company’s growth. What started out as a shoe store is now SM Investments Corp., one of the leading conglomerates in the Philippines, where Coson is vice chairman. Known for growth, innovation, and leadership, SMIC’s core businesses include retail, mall operations, property, and banking.

In retail, Coson oversees the growth of the business, which includes SM Department Stores, and affiliates totaling 300 stores nationwide.  The SM Group was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame of Retail Asia’s Asia Pacific Top 500 Awards, a distinction given to retailers who have been awarded the Best of the Best Award for three consecutive years.

She likewise works with SM’s mall operations through SM Prime Holdings, Inc, where she sits as an adviser to its board of directors; and is chairperson of BDO Unibank Inc.