Entrepreneur 5: VICTOR TAN

VICTOR TAN - Betting on Teamwork to Succeed

Business: Bobson

Category: From Rags-to-Riches

"I supported myself tutoring grade-school students,printing T-shirts intended as Christmas giveaways, and working as a salesman for a hardware store."

Victor was the eldest among six siblings who resides in Divisoria, a part of Manila's sprawling Chinatown. He supported himself to college and when he graduated worked as a supervisor in a furniture manufacturing firm. But what trains him as a future businessman is when he worked as a salesman in a garment manufacturing firm in Divisoria. And lucky enough the owner of the company was supportive of his plan in putting up his own business. He put up Crolific Garments Manufacturing Corp. in 1987 to make the Bobson brand with five partners on little capital. The company's growth was slow yet he needs to work hard so he would be able to buy his partners share of the business.
Fortunate enough when Crolific was launch the confidence of the consumer was on the rise. It was when SM and Robinsons malls accepted Bobson as a department store brand after two years of wait that they have their big break.He always believed in the importance of teamwork-wherein all members of the team doing the task necessary to achieve their goals.

"As a young entrepreneur, the foremost challenge I faced was to form a strong team: I kept in mind that I should have people who knew the business and were willing to apply their expertise to the objectives at hand and then I have to motivate them and make sure that all members of the team were pulling towards the same direction."

They now have a management committee that sets directions and executive committee that takes care of the business and financial planning. The company practice the principle that long-term growth takes precedence over short-term gains.
They now have 171 concession outlets and 28 freestanding boutiques nationwide.As for them the growth is not in terms of the annual increase in sales, but in the variety of merchandise that they introduce and the strength of their presence in major trading centers.

"I am convinced that our core values - diligence, adaptability to market changes, professionalism, and fiscal responsibility - which we learned from our formative years, will continue to serve us in good stead in the future."

GOLDEN RULE:

"We should have contentment and gratitude in our hearts, and not bitterness or envy. Contentment and gratitude can reduce suffering in life. We should also be humble and positive towards pain. Sometimes, our vision becomes clearer after our eyes have been washed with tears. Sometimes we have to be hurt to be stronger in business, in love, and in life."