HENRY SY As a young boy, Sy was buying and selling small things to help his family especially after their store was looted and burned during the World War II. After the war, in 1946, Sy ventured into selling American shoes imported by the GIs. In 1950, Sy earned himself a degree on Associate of Arts in Commercial Science from Far Eastern University. Eight years later, Sy opened Shoe Mart which is the first air conditioned shoe store in the busy streets of Quiapo, Manila. In 1976, Sy acquired Acme Bank and renamed it to Banco de Oro Savings and Mortgage Bank. Sy then opened several SM department stores in Metro Manila and the first department store outside Metro Manila in Iloilo in 1979. Several department stores later, and winning over various obstacles along the way, Sy finally opened the 1st SM super mall in 1985, the SM North Edsa in Quezon City. This mall features cinemas, bowling alleys, department store, and a supermarket making it a one-stop shopping convenience for Filipinos. It has been written several times that the opening of SM North Edsa started the malling phenomenon of Filipinos. But just before the boom of his mall business, Sy already has SM Foundation in 1983. The Foundation focuses its efforts on education, religious, mall-based outreach, and health. But perhaps, the Foundation’s most popular program is its SM College Scholarship Program started in 1993 which has enabled hundreds of deserving students finished college. In 1991, Filipinos got excited over the first ice-skating rink built inside SM Megamall, the 3rd mall developed by Sy. He confessed that he personally loves ice skating and the ice-skating rinks in his malls is his way of sharing this love for the sports to others. With his desire to develop and build a wholesome, family-oriented entertainment and leisure, Sy built more SM Supermalls. It used to be that people from the provinces troop to SM North Edsa. Today, Sy brought SM closer to people outside Metro Manila by building more shopping malls. Today, nearly every major province in the country has an SM. This “obsession” has earned him the moniker “King of Philippine Retail.” SM Prime Holdings now operates 34 shopping malls nationwide including the biggest mall in Asia, aptly called the SM Mall of Asia located in Pasay City. The SM Group has engaged in other retail endeavors through other SM- related companies such as, among others: Watsons Personal Care Stores, Inc., a joint-venture with Hutchison-Whampoa Ltd. of Hong Kong; International Toy World (Toy Kingdom); Ace Hardware Philippines, a joint-venture with Ace Hardware Corporation USA; Star Appliance Center; Surplus Shop; Sports Central; Baby & Co.; Home World; and Our Home. In 2006, Sy assumed total control over Equitable PCI-Bank and had this merged with Banco de Oro Unibank in 2007. Banco de Oro Unibank is now the 2nd largest bank in the country. From building shopping malls, Sy also put money on real estate through the SM Development Corporation (SMDC). SMDC is a fast-growing residential property developer. He lives by the Confucian values of hard work, frugality, focus, discipline, and determination. These values are also the same values that he brought to the SM business model and imbibed to his 6 children who are now actively running and managing the SM Group of Companies. With a net worth of $2.7 B, Forbes magazine ranked Sy as the 1st richest man in the Philippines. Sources: Millionaireacts.com  |
The man who built Philippines' most popular hangout was born on December
25, 1924 in Xiamen, China. The Sy family arrived in the Philippines
in 1936 when Henry was only 12 years old. He helped his father run their
small sari-sari store in Echague St., and the young Henry witnessed
and experienced firsthand the hardships of life.