From Potato Corner lovers to business partners

MANILA, Philippines - When Jose P. Magsaysay Jr., president and CEO of Cinco Corp., opened the first Potato Corner outlet in October 1992 at SM Megamall, students and young customers were instantly drawn to the new twists the brand brought to French fries.

Today, some 20 years later, some of those students who became loyal patrons of Potato Corner would bring their interest for the brand and its products to a higher level by becoming business partners of Cinco Corp. with their own franchise outlets both in the country and abroad. He attributes a huge part of Potato Corner’s international success to them.

Magsaysay, “Joemag” to his business partners and friends in the industry, is a Certified International Franchise Executive who holds a Masters Degree in Entrepreneurship from the Asian Institute of Management.

“Our new partners are young, usually in their early-30s. My partners in Indonesia and Panama were former students here and were regular customers of Potato Corner. When they finished their courses here and relocated outside of the country, they became my partners in establishing the business in Indonesia and Panama,” Magsaysay explained.

He stressed the beauty and significance of being able to develop brand loyalty. “Our young customers before are now our business partners. That is the cycle we are experiencing,” he enthused.

Aside from his partners, Magsaysay managed to develop a great concept and product, build a competent organization, come up with a good management system, and establish sound corporate policies that propelled the brand to its current billing as one of a handful of Filipino franchise concepts that are successful in the global arena.

In Magsaysay’s own words, here are some of the factors that made Potato Corner an international phenomenon: “The product is now a basic staple. Burger King and McDonald’s made French fries staple, so it is easy for us to get into the mainstream. We just added flavor to it,” he added. 

He said they are very flexible and have no problem with attitude. “We are flexible enough that one country can be different in terms of looks but the DNA has to be the same all over the world---the shaking that is done manually to mix the flavors with the fries, and the young customers.”

Magsaysay said they have also professionalized their Board. “We got people from the academe, and we have three independent directors, so even if we are not a public company, we want to be very transparent,” he explained.

Potato Corner currently has over 250 stores nationwide aside from eight outlets in the United States, 22 in Indonesia, and one each in Malaysia and Panama.

Magsaysay, this year’s overall chairman of the Franchise Asia Philippines 2012 (FAP2012) slated July 25-29 at the SMX Convention Center, said the company is gearing up to further grow and expand its franchise outreach both here and abroad.

“We are celebrating our 20th year this year, and business has never been better. While we gear to launch new brands, Potato Corner will remain our flagship product and we will continue to put Potato Corner on a pedestal. Locally, we will grow not so much in terms of the number of outlets but in sales. It is a premium brand, so we are very picky on the location. We will help our existing partners increase their sales further through enhanced promotions and development of new products,” he said.

The company, he noted, is on track of meeting its 50-percent sales growth for the year, The United States is where Potato Corner will be seeing most of the action in the coming years, he disclosed.

Magsaysay said even with the strict regulatory regime in the US, Potato Corner is lucky to become one of only two Filipino brands that have been given the green light to conduct franchise business in all its 50 states. Potato Corner will avail of that opportunity to establish about four additional franchise outlets this year, and about a hundred new stores there over the next three years.

“We see Potato Corner US becoming bigger than Potato Corner Philippines. That is the value of franchising. You can really achieve rapid growth through franchising,” he emphasized.

Although Potato Corner has entered the US mainstream and has been getting a lot of interest from prospective franchisees, Magsaysay said the company has been very prudent in managing its growth there. 

“We are very careful. Right now, there are many offers from investors who are ready and willing to pay, but we tell them to hold on, while we further consolidate our organization. There are more than 20 who want to pay us franchise fees for certain locations, but our Operations Group is not ready for multiple outlets right away. We have the capability to open only one store every two months, but by 2013, we will be able to open one store per month,” he further explained.  

 Cinco Corp. has partnered with Cisco, the biggest logistics company in US, to make sure its products and collaterals easily reach its branches in California, Texas and New Mexico. Magsaysay said his membership in the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) also helped him a lot. 

“The PFA is like my cheering squad in growing the brand. That is why I’m telling those who are not yet members of the Association that they are missing a lot. You are in good company if you join PFA,” he further emphasized.

 Magsaysay now devotes much of his time in ensuring the success of Franchise Asia Philippines 2012 (FAP2012), the biggest franchising event in Asia organized by the PFA.

FAP2012 is a 4-in-1 event that includes the International Franchise Conference (July 25-26), featuring local and international franchise gurus and experts who will present the latest trends and developments in the global franchising arena; the International Franchise Expo (July 27 – 29), a one-stop-shop showcasing the best and unlimited business opportunities ranging from established and successful brands – both local and global – to new and promising franchise concepts covering every sector at various investment levels, including petroleum and related businesses opportunities in the Petro Business Pavilion; the Educational Franchise Seminars, simultaneous with the Expo, serving as an excellent forum for business matching between franchisors and would-be franchisees, and the Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) Program  (July 23 and 24),  a mini-MBA course on Franchise Management to be held at the AIM Conference Center.

For inquiries about FAP2012, please call PFA Secretariat at (02) 6870365 to 67; 09178320731; or e-mail [email protected]; or visit www.franchiseasiaphl2012.com.ph and register on-line for special admission rates.