CASE ANALYSIS

(Henry Sy and John Gokongwei)

Presented To:
Prof. Michael Sanchez


Prepared By:
Gellie Gonzales
Emilyn Mando
Ailyn Linatoc
Nadine April Villa
Rommel Quijano







I. INTRODUCTION



II. KEY PERSONS INVOLVED

HENRY SY
- Retailing tycoon, owner of successful SM Shoemart chain of
department stores.
Henry Sy Jr. eldest son of Henry, based in Hong Kong and
handles his fathers foreign investments. He likewise functions as
management consultant of hotel projects in China which are being
set up together with Novotel, a French hotel chain.
Teresita Sy eldest daughter of Henry, handles finance and Banco
de Oro operations.
Hans Sy in charge of operations and engineering of Shoemart.
Herbert Sy takes care of SM ACA and the supermarket.
Harley Sy oversees merchandising of all department stores.
Elizabeth Sy takes care of the pastries and food divisions.

JOHN ROBINSON GOKONGWEI
- Banker-industrialist, owner of Robinson Commercial, Inc. outlets.
Robina Gokongwei eldest daughter of John.
Lance Gokongwei son of John, who has degrees in finance and
science (summa cum laude), who was been assigned to the
Philippine Commercial International Bank as assistant treasurer and
at Robinsons Galleria, a two-billion-peso complex hotel,
department store, flats, shops, cinemas, restaurants and offices.



III. ANALYSIS

Strengths:
To the entrepreneurial Chinese, every peril, every threat is as good as
an opportunity. Filipino Chinese look beyond the political risks that
surround the country.
Far from ignoring the dangers, they look into them. Their positive
vision is long-range vision coupled with an enduring faith in the
creativity and resilience of the entire Filipino national community.
The key to business success lies in Henry Sys interest in people
philosophy, especially in retailing where consumers are a varied and
finicky lot. What keeps Henry Sy going on, doing one megaproject
after another besides the undeniable prospect of huge returns? He
said community service overwhelms the competitive instincts.
The compelling reason for commercial centers is much like a public
service offering of convenience for shoppers. For the love and need of
people, indeed, cannot compensate for the wealth one acquires.
Similarly, Henry Sys shopping cities provide employment to many.
One thing John Gokongwei is though: He is competitive. Thats why he
takes his relaxation diligently. No competitive sport for fun or fame; no
barkada to kill time with, when little enough of it is left for family
and solitude; no hobby other than reading to distract his attention
from the pure enjoyment of whiling away the moments alone and not
having to do anything other than do nothing.
Henry Sy leads a very limited social life. It is perhaps because of this
that he is a non-smoker and just occasionally has a sip of brandy or
simply because he values his health like John Gokongwei.
Henry Sys no off-season philosophy must have been routed in the
early retail days when he realized that when everybody else is off
from work that is the time they go shopping.
Weaknesses:
The challenge of going public is particularly tough for John Gokongwei,
whose estimated 4 billion asset business include retail holdings, sugar
mills, hotels, grocery stores, and textile mills, and whose 22-year-old
son, Lance, is just out of university.

Opportunities:
Henry Sy had always been proud that his Shoemart outlets which dot
the Metropolis and other key cities in the Philippines had been
gradually upgraded into ever larger commercial complexes through
retail cash flow and from the deposits of concessionaries eager to
piggyback on his reputation for sound business dealings and good
services.
John Gokongwei had also claimed to have avoided major borrowings
for his projects. Instead, he has relied on huge sums of cash
generated by his two main holding companies, Universal Robina
Corporation and Commonwealth Food Corporation, the support of
relatives and associates who have been silent partners from the start,
and on profits from stockmarket dealings.
Henry Sy purchased a closed-end investment company from the Ayala
Group and renamed it the SM Fund, Inc. While hard work and a sharp
eye for the bottom line had serve Henry Sy well, so apparently had his
development partnership with the Zobel family, primary owners of the
property-based Ayala Corporation.
Similarly, in August, 1988, Gokongwei filed an application with the
Securities and Exchange Commission to offer publicly 40% of Robinson
Land Corporation, his groups primary real estate development arm.
Shares are expected to be placed overseas, largely among institutional
investors.
John Gokongwei learned everything on the effects of his two-week
vacation in a health center at the Pritikin Longevity Centre in Los
Angeles. He listened to three hours of lectures everyday by experts
who talked about food and how it is ingested by the body. He is also
learning that he can take off from work for as long as a month. Hes
learning that travelling for business and pleasure is both possible and
enjoyable.
Perhaps Henry Sy considers his many travels to the United States and
Europe in the 1950s to 1970s as his vacation. It was, for him, an
absorption time that sharpened his entrepreneurial skills.

IV. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Both tycoons are building multi-storey commercial centers that cause
them a competition for the land in Manila.
The race between Henry Sy and John Gokongwei to cash in on the
Philippines consumer boom was coined as Manilas store wars, ringing
the metropolis with vast concrete shopping malls.
Both of them are taking the concept of shopping center as community
center to the extreme with their new plans.
Both developments will include hotels, apartments, shops and cinemas.
Both groups have also tried to boost access to financing trough buying
local banks.

V. LIST OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS:

They should combine their business into a partnership
Advantages:
1. They will avoid competition on their business.
2. They will gain more profit.
Disadvantages:
1. Profit of both companies will be divided among them.
2. Decision-making will be difficult for both owners.
Spreading shopping plazas, and copying the idea throughout the
archipelago
Advantages:
1. Customers can easily choose where to buy things according to
their needs.
Disadvantages:
1. It will provoke further changes in how and where Filipinos does
their shopping.
2. Customers will be divided into two groups so the profits of these
two companies will be separated.

VI. CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION: