CONQUERING THE BUSINESS OF LUXURY

French fashion creator Coco Chanel once remarked, “Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is the opposite of vulgarity.” The concept of luxury is as old as humanity; a discriminating understanding of it makes it possible to define the rigorous rules of its effective management.
The Association of Young Filipino-Chinese Entrepreneurs (Anvil Business Club) was deeply privileged to have Mr. Stephen Sy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Focus Global, inc. – a dominant marketing company that has built an outstanding portfolio of 20 global brands exclusively represented in the Philippines since 1991 – for its 9th monthly Business Exchange Forum as guest-of-honor and speaker, amid a jam-packed audience easily numbering more than a hundred members and guests.
Held at the Penthouse in the 29th floor of their spanking new tower at the Twenty-four Seven McKinley Building – by far, the country’s biggest luxury lifestyle product showroom housing five stories of luxury brands, with over half-a-hectare in floor area which sits at the Bonifacio Global City, arguably the most expensive piece of real estate in the Philippines today – the entire venue was filled to capacity with Anvil members and guests eager to hear the unique success story of this luxury-brand mogul.
Indeed, while much has been said about our traditional tycoons who have amassed a lot of fortunes catering mainly to mass-market consumers, this meek and soft-spoken Stanford University alumnus decided to make his mark on the opposite end of the market spectrum. Ever the visionary entrepreneur, he audaciously put his chips on the growing affluence of the rich and upper middle class due to the steady economic expansion of the past decade.
Mr. Sy opened his talk by walking the audience through his humble beginnings in the company, which he started with his lovely wife, Lolita, just 24 years ago. He first ventured into the high-end consumer market with the introduction of Coleman coolers and jugs. Realizing early on that marketing premium products requires bigger investments in terms of focus, energy, time and even resources, he invested heavily in promoting the brand. In 1993, his company bagged the "Golden Lantern" Award for being the best distributor of the year – on its first year of distributorship. The following year, the company moved it its new office at Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong. In 1995, they acquired exclusive distributorship of KitchenAid (mixers from the USA) and, in 1996, Oster (small kitchen appliances from the USA). That year, they ventured in the home furnishing market with the launch of Ethan Allen (furniture from the USA). On its 10th year, they successfully bagged the exclusive distributorship of Sub-Zero (built-in refrigerators from the USA) and Wolf (built-in cooking appliances from the USA). With the arrival of SieMatic (kitchen cabinets from Germany) in 2002, Focus Global introduced a new level of lifestyle and quality in the Filipino consumer's kitchen.
Every year, the company expanded its product lines with the addition of new brands, most of which go to them to offer exclusive licensee agreements, such as: Miel (premium home appliances from Germany), Pella (windows and doors from the USA), as well a host of other brands – B&B, Maxalto, Dornbracht, Villeroy & Boch, Hunter Douglas, Tempur, DMC – and invested in even more showrooms in Metro Manila and Cebu, solidifying their already dominant market presence within the archipelago.
But what riveted the members more were his three major "takeaways" of making it big in the luxury market:
1. "If you get a lucky break, make sure you take it and make a run with it." When one gets a great opportunity to exclusively carry a well-known international brand, leave no stone unturned to ensure that you make the brand successful. Know your target affluent clientele well, their needs and wants, and also the existing businesses catering to these customers. In studying and building this target client profile, take into consideration also demographics, psycho-graphics or the unique range of customer circumstances. This also means investing on good people, paying them fairly and motivating them well.
2. "Don't be afraid of the unknown and of taking risks." Nobody ever became successful by just wishing for it. Marketing high-end products requires more focus on energy, time and even resources, so entrepreneurs in this market segment should not scrimp on costs. There should be well-thought-out marketing strategies for this special market. Also, excellent after-sales customer service should be provided. One of the major differences between premium market businesses and others is the much higher expectations in customer service. Even for mass-market or mid-range market businesses, one can achieve and main success if one can guarantee good and consistent customer service.
3. "Don't be afraid to dream BIG." When Mr. Sy was an intern working for SGV & Company, earning a comfortable salary of Php800/month at that time, a colleague once asked him what his dream was. He thought about it and said, "I wanted to own a building in Makati." More than two decades later, Mr. Sy proudly stands on a 29-storey building in Makati (well, he hopes that the pending Makati-Taguig boundary dispute would soon be resolved in the former's favor, that is).
Before he closed his talk, Mr. Sy also advised getting a good partner in life as a big element of his success. "Getting a wife who shares your vision and similar temperament is very crucial," he said. "So, that the husband can spend his time making speeches while the wife works."
After an engaging Question-and-Answer session, guests were later given a floor-by-floor tour personally by the Sy couple to view the latest collections from some of the brands they carry such as Sub-Zero, Siematic, Dornbracht, B&B Italia, and Ethan Allen.
Certainly, Mr. Sy's impressive success in the high-end luxury market proves that one could leave an indelible mark in a nontraditional, "tierra incognita" market, for as long as one possesses the power of vision, hard work and perseverance.
Congratulations to the Programs Team, led by Vice-President for Programs Patrick Cua, Directors Lorina Tan and Katherine Sy-Yap for a job exceptionally done (again!). Kudos to Anvil member, the alluring Val Ang, for doing a mesmerizing hosting stint despite being her very FIRST hosting gig done ever! Special thanks should also go to Moët Hennessy Philippines, led by Managing Director Steven Bullock and Liquor Kingdom, Rudy Ngo, for generously providing the overflowing Hennessy XO Cognac and Hennessy Paradis blends for the members and guests.