Defying the odds

Let us not allow strife or calamity to dampen the spirit of Christmas, which is peace and goodwill to all men.

There is a universal aphorism that tells about family-owned enterprises never lasting more than three generations:  The first generation sets up the foundation, the second expands the business, and the third spends the wealth and lets it die a natural death. Yishion human resources manager (and former brand manager) Joan Nightingale Lim-Chung is determined to prove this wrong.  Her grandfather, Lim Seh Leng, founded Sterling Paper Group of Companies, best known for its photo albums, notebooks and “Sterling Greetings,” the only completely Filipino greeting card brand.  Besides manufacturing paper products, the conglomerate has successfully dabbled into other ventures:  SL Agritech Corporation (makers of Doña Maria Rice), The Expressions Company (retail), Sterling Global Call Center, and SP Properties (industrial real estate). Joan focused on retail.“We also experimented and ventured into the department store business and now, we are trying our hand at bringing in fashion brands with our new baby, Yishion.” Graduating with a double major (Psychology and Marketing Management) at De La Salle University, Joan never planned on being in the apparel business.  She thanks her dad for patiently guiding her, giving her room to experiment but always providing checkpoints to help minimize risk situations.Joan finds the job challenging “as we don’t have any real experience handling a fashion brand.”  She had to learn by observation and by trial and error. “I have a lot of respect for the other retailers as it takes a lot of passion, time, and effort to really create an entire brand experience.” Currently, Yishion has two branches in the country:  at Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong and The District mall in Cavite.  The company is planning a third store early next year. Two more stores are being eyed in 2014, depending on the location.“We already have plans at the soon-to-open Ayala Fairview Terraces in Quezon City, but my real target is to bring Yishion to Makati’s dressy populace.”  Joan, a soft-spoken young mom, admits to never having any fashion sense or designing skills at all when she was young. “That is why I love Yishion.You can create several different looks with only a few pieces of clothing.They are extremely versatile.”  Joan Chung could just be the next fashion retail diva to watch!

Helping shape the country’s economy

The untiring efforts of the government in partnership with the private sector to ‘sell’ our country as a trade and investment haven continue to gain fruitful results, one of which was the very successful trade and investments promotion mission held in London. High-ranking government officials including Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary Gregory Domingo and Department of Finance (DOF) secretary Cesar Purisima as well as business executives like Philippine-British Business Council (PBBC) co-chairman ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting and PBBC London co-chairman Nigel Rich make up the official delegation that hosted the activities for the 2-day trade roadshow. Representatives of British companies, small and medium enterprises and business organizations were given more information on the country’s improving business climate during the series of conferences and forums of the said roadshow. Kudos to ambassador Tambunting and the entire Philippine delegation for this organizing this worthwhile event!