I would like to congratulate and welcome to the board of Philippine Retailers Association PRA) Cebu Mr. Pablo “Jun” Yap of JUNREX Cellphones and Accessories. I had a chance to talk to Jun about JUNREX and how they started. It is an amazing inspirational story that will encourage more people to become entrepreneurs.

JUNREX was started in 1996 by two cousins, who started out with a simple plan and an even simpler name. Jun and Rex Yap went into business as dealers of Mobiline handsets and phone lines. They had big dreams but small plans then. They started out renting just one table in an unconventional location, the boutique of fashion designer Tony Igloria. This was all they could afford and to this day, remain grateful to the fashion designer for allowing them to share rent.

A few weeks later, business was fast improving that they needed to hire a secretary to assist them. Soon they asked Tony Igloria if they could rent space for another table, which later became three, then ultimately half of the store.

Two years later, Edward Gaisano offered them space in his store. They wavered initially, but they were not one to turn down opportunity. It started out to be a bad decision, sales were inconsistent and they had a hard time meeting rent. But they persevered trusting God and striving to provide the best customer service they could muster, eventually turned it around. They soon opened another branch in Metro Colon Mall. In 1999, Globe partnered with them that allowed the company to open stores in major cities of Visayas and Mindanao.

Today, JUNREX Cell phones and Accessories is a multi million business, capturing more than fifty percent of the mobile phone needs of Cebu. They have branches in almost all major malls as well as operate concept stores for Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericson as well as Motorola. They operate their own service centers named AirTouch as well as a new concept store catering to market demands for more affordable phones named Mobile City. They have also expanded to other areas like Bohol, as well as putting up their own advertising agency named Q4.

I asked Jun on what were the secrets to their rapid growth. His reply:

Exemplary Customer Service – “We make sure the customer always receives the best. All of our staff are college graduates so that they can consistently assist the customer in making right decisions. “

Quality Product and Services – “We sell only brand new units complete with warranty. We don’t sell refurbished, second hand nor do we change packages. We also make it a point to be consistent in our pricing, we don’t take advantage of model scarcity to increase prices of units.”

Maintain and Build Relationships – “ We have very good relationships with customers, suppliers and employees. Globe gave us our first big break by asking us to handle their distribution for Visayas and Mindanao. Despite the obstacles, we rose up to the challenge and went on to be awarded Dealer of the Year for Globe. We also won the Nokia National Gold Award as well as the Top Volume Producer for 1996, the first time for a dealer outside Metro Manila. We also give our employees benefits and bonuses as well as scholarships for their children.

Open Communication – “All my employees know my personal mobile phone and can call me, we are very transparent with them even about the company’s financial status.”

There are many more lessons that we can learn from Jun. His story is very inspiring, and I hope will encourage more people to find out if they have an inner entrepreneur inside them. We will never know until we try. Take it from Jun, when opportunity came along, he made the right call.

I would also like to invite other retailers, coffee shop and restaurant owners to join PRA Cebu. We will be holding the second General Members Meeting together with the second induction ceremonies for new members on October 29, 2008 at 12:00 noon at the City Sports Club Sinulog Ballroom I. The event will have Mr. Bernie Liu, CEO of Golden ABC and concurrently, Vice President for Regional Affairs of the PRA as well as board member of the local chapter, as inspirational speaker. The theme for the event will be “Supporting the Cebuano Entrepreneurial Spirit. Building World Class Brand Excellence.” For details on how to join, you can email me or pra_cebu@yahoo.com . Be part of the voice and pulse of the Philippine retail industry.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/ .