Peso Power

"You must be crazy".

"Maybe, it’s best that you wait."

"It’s just too risky."

These were some of the advice from Eric Teng’s well-meaning circle of family and friends sometime in 1998. Teng and his wife, Imelda, ignored such advice.

"For many, it was the worst time to expand our retail business. For us, it was the right time," said Teng, who trusts his instincts in making critical business decisions.

Today, the couple’s enterprise, the 99 Peso Store, has grown into a 16-outlet chain. Five more stores, including its first branch in the Visayas, will be open before the end of the year. There are also plans to reestablish a presence in Mindanao. (The General Santos outlet was burned down).

Despite inflation, the 99 Peso Store continues to sells everything from clothes and accessories to home and gift items to toys and cosmetics at the uniform price of P99. "Our core market is the C and D crowd. Lately, we’re now getting a spattering of customers from the A and B set. We’ve been able to prove that a P99 product can be a well-made quality product," said Teng.

Roots

It was Imelda Teng who first broached the idea of adopting the US-based One Dollar Store concept to the Philippine retail business. At that time, Teng was a plywood distributor and his wife ran a ready-to-wear store in Divisoria.

The couple set up the first 99 Peso outlet in Tutuban centermall.

"The store was such a hit that I gave up my business to help out Imelda in hers," said Teng. "Those were the days when I hated the Christmas season because my wife and I hardly saw each other. Months before the holidays, she would be abroad, negotiating with our suppliers. Come the season, she and I would go our separate ways to make sure there were always enough products to sell at the store."

The hard work of the Teng couple paid off. In the next three years, the couple toyed with the idea of bringing the business closer to their customers by renting space in the malls. "The first few malls that we approached couldn’t believe that our concept of selling all items at P99 was realistic. They didn’t think we could sustain the business," he said.

The 99 Peso Store got its first big break when it got a 186-sqm. space at Robinson’s Imus branch.

"It was a leap of faith for us because the mall was still unfinished. We had no idea about the volume of traffic. We didn’t bother with a market study. We were also on the third floor, which we didn’t think would have good pedestrian traffic," said Teng. "We were more surprised than the Robinson’s managers when our store was bursting at the seams the day we opened."

Timely

To keep its uniform P99 pricing, the company negotiates tirelessly with suppliers, both in keeping their costs down and in giving them longer credit lines.

Aside from its pricing, another major factor in the success of the 99 Peso Store is its timing. "Our concept was well-received by the market because we offered hope. At our stores, customers can do some shopping without feeling guilty that they overspent. They do not have to go past the psychological barrier of spending P100 and more for any product," he said.

The transition from a two-man operation to a business that employs more than 100 workers has been smooth, in large Part because the Teng couple has maintained strong link with its employees. Most of its managers and supervisors have been with the chain from the start. Many of them rose from the ranks.

Right now, the company is making structural changes that will simplify operations.

"When the business grew, it was no longer just my wife and I, our suppliers and our customers. More people are involved now. I want everything to be more organized from our end so our we can keep our customers happy with a better selection of quality products and better service," said Teng. He didn’t have to add the company’s main selling point. The name of the chain says it all.