How DECS became the top selling dimsum in SM Markets

MANILA, Philippines — Diao Eng Chay, one of the first to sell traditional Chinese delicacies in the Philippines,opened its first store in Binondo in the early 1930s and today, remains a choice destination for customers in Chinatown for its signature dimsum.

But in 1990, the third-generation owners sought to bring their heritage recipes to more customers by branching out and starting a new company called DECS. The new brand thrived by serving good quality dimsum through a handful of pop-up stores across malls in Metro Manila.

DECS has made its popular dimsum like pork siomai, hakaw, siopao and other dumplings available frozen and ready to heat.

In 2014, Justin Kayne Chua, the great grandson of the original Diao Eng Chay owner, was then working with SM Retail’s mini-mart chain Alfamart as a merchandising manager. There, he had the opportunity to work with SM Markets vice chairman Herbert Sy. As a veteran businessman who saw potential in what DECS signifies, Sy urged him to revive DECS and modernize the legacy brand for it to expand.

Chua then took over the family business and started revamping and expanding the business on a much larger scale. With the help of SM Markets, they took the DECS dimsum legacy and reinvented it to appeal to modern consumers.

In November of 2015, DECS opened its first stall in SM Supermarket Makati. DECS’ new look breathed new life to its already popular name and, after several months, the restaurant expanded to other SM Supermarket branches as well as in Savemore and SM Hypermarket. Since partnering with SM, DECS dimsum sales tripled.

According to Chua, DECS sales already exceed targets by about 30 percent.