Anna Marie Periquet never had any formal training in interior design – or retailing, for that matter. Initially wanting to be a veterinarian, Periquet’s earlier exposure to interior design was limited to “regularly (meaning up to twice a month) changing the contents of my house simply because I felt like doing so,” she says. But when she established Anna Marie Home Collection, Inc. (AMHCI) in 2003, after a friend suggested for her to turn her hobby into a business, Periquet broke into the retailing industry armed only with what “experience” she had – matched up with a keen eye for details and good taste.

Equipped with traits (stereo)typically associated with women, Periquet’s attempt proved lucrative. Though it was her “first foray into the business of retailing furniture and home accessories, and I have to admit I was both scared and excited when we opened,” Periquet’s first consignment of stocks sold out in the first week of AMHCI’s operations.

Heeding the supposed women’s intuition is but one of the many womanly attributes associated with the successes, not only of Periquet, but also of Catherine Tantoco, Vice President of Shopwise, and Marni Ocampo, part owner of Sari-Sari Store (SSS), cited in the Philippine Retailers Association’s recent 14th National Marketing Conference and Expo. Held with the Full Circle Communications at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City, the conference looked at how major industry players build on their successes, and what lessons up and coming businesses can gain from them, among others.

Comprising up to 80% of the industry’s target markets, women play a major role in the retail industry – first as a big market to tap, and, more lately, as major players in providing needed services.

“Jumping into retail after coming from the public service and governance (was) a challenge,” Periquet says. What made it even more challenging was that, even after opening AMHCI, “many people didn’t agree when I placed my products at the high end (of the market) because nobody knows me (yet). But I love challenges, I consider (them) as windows of opportunities. Marketing-wise, I put myself at par with (older) establishments; but with a different approach (e.g. non-mall-based outlets), I could afford to bring my prices down, which made me a better option (than them).”

The same path was taken by Tantoco. “I wasn’t into retailing (I wanted to be a lawyer),” she says, though she worked for retail shops to augment her salary while studying in the United States of America. But Tantoco married into a family that was into retailing, so the rest, as the cliché goes, is history.

With everything in the industry new to her, Tantoco learned that the most important trait for one to possess in the industry is stamina. “It’s a sprint without a finish line, so you (have to be) in top form every time,” she says.

Being on top form means having the right skills at the right time, Ocampo says, stressing that, for example, an education related to the business venture may be helpful, as it adds on the experience, and helps build on other skills. “But to succeed, you’ll need more than that,” she says.

When SSS opened its doors in 1985, “we decided that if we opened a business at all, it should be something different,” Ocampo says. What were not too common in the 1980s were one-of-a-kind T-shirts, which Ocampo and her partners sold. “The shirt business clicked, so we (decided to) put up SSS (to follow up on that success).”

Propped with the right idea, working towards success, of course, starts at the very beginning of a venture’s operations. “You hire good people,” Tantoco says. “You maximize their talent by nurturing them – and nurturing is more an attribute of a woman than of a man.”

Keeping the communication lines open helps sustain the nurturing, according to Ocampo. “Accessibility always helps.”

Some qualities, however, are not identified with any gender.

“Leadership by example is very important,” Periquet says. “If I want to implement perseverance, dedication, loyalty, and other such traits, then it has to start from me – so I go to the warehouse (as early as 2:00 in the morning, when the stocks arrive), clean the storeroom, et cetera. I have to show that even the boss (isn’t detached), but is a hands-on member of the whole group.”

Similarly, the challenges affect everybody in every industry. “The state of the economy, new accounting rules that would change the balance sheets of many businesses, E-VAT – these are all external (issues affecting everybody),” Tantoco says. “And from inside the company, the challenge is always the dealings with the different kinds of people. Overcoming these challenges keeps me going.”

Tantoco likened women in retail, and in business as a whole, to an elastic band. “You stretch whichever way you are made to,” she says. This flexibility is also what makes a woman function well as a parent and a wife. “Perfect balance doesn’t exist – you just make sure that you fulfill the roles, thus, the stretching, the flexibility to shift roles, and (being comfortable doing so).”

Continuous “stretching” can cause burnout, Ocampo says. SSS’s biggest challenge “is on how it is perceived, considering the prevalence of similarly themed stores in the industry today,” she says. “So we try to keep ahead of the competition – get items before everybody else will because when (they) reach the tiangges, we’re at a losing end. You get tired, yes. But then you see an item (even while vacationing), and then your interest returns. (Now) I mix work with the personal, which I think is good, as it shows that your business is an essential part of you.”

However, not everything goes according to plans.

“There are times when what you thought would sell, wouldn’t,” Ocampo says. “But you have to be realistic. (At SSS, we) put these on sale.”
Getting rid of “dead products” is important, according to Tantoco, because you need the cash flow.

For Periquet to get rid of AMHCI’s “dead products,” she had to buy them herself. She once ordered a bulk of candles with Christmas-sy designs, thinking they would sell because she found them classy and beautiful. Yet, nobody bought them by the time the holiday season ended.

“Aside from occupying space in the warehouse, the candles were also delicate items because they melt. So I had to get rid of them by buying them myself,” she recalls. The following year, Periquet’s friends received candles for Christmas, “even those who shouldn’t have received any gift from me,” she laughs.

These errors in judgment taught them lessons that continue to make them succeed.

“I learned of timing – don’t buy seasonal products, as that limits the shelf life. Same is true with perishables,” Periquet says. “And don’t let your personal taste interfere with business.”

To be able to know what are ideal to sell at what times of the year, Tantoco says, “knowing your company’s format is important. Knowing what does and doesn’t sell (is a combination of) art and science. You’ll need to be able to analyze trends, movements in the market, et cetera – that’s the science part. But you should also have a gut feeling, a willingness to make it a trial and error thing, (so you pick lessons along the way).”

After only seven months of operations, Periquet’s products were already sold in major retail establishments, mainly malls and department stores. “I knew people in the industry, but I didn’t call on them (for help),” she says. “I wanted to do it on my own, so succeeding was a big high for me.”

The same high was felt by Ocampo, who described SSS’s first branch as “a dinky place, but still managed to get the attention of the big retail establishments’ honchos who offered help themselves for us to go mainstream.”

Beyond the grand, however, seemingly small personal achievements abound. “I know mathematics now,” Tantoco says. “Graduating from (a school that didn’t emphasize on the importance of mathematics), I can proudly say I know it now. What was a struggle before, is now a norm.”

There are more lessons to be learned, however.

“The market is changing,” Tantoco says. “There are no demographics anymore. Now it’s psychographics. People are trading up and trading down, so old laws do not necessarily apply anymore.”

According to Tantoco, segmentation is out, as old people buy items for their apos, husbands buy for their wives and vice versa, and people reward themselves by buying their own gifts. “The market is bigger because of these shifts. So what we offer are lifestyle solutions that anybody could benefit from,” she says.
Ocampo suggested keeping an open mind. “Think out of the box – and listen to the demands and suggestions of the market,” she says. “So many things could (and does) happen, so be open to everything.”

Periquet adds that listening to competitors is also important. “Consider your competitors as allies – you could help each other out (on items either of you has). But you can also get their clients if you do your business well. So learn from them.”

At the end of the day, however, Tantoco says that for both men and women, “success without integrity doesn’t mean anything. So just give your best – whether you
succeed in your undertaking or not doesn’t matter, it’s that you have given your best that does.”