Background
Henry Sy was born to a poor family in Jinjiang, China on December 25, 1924. He is the son of Henry H. Sy and Tan O Sia.
至成 施
Henry Sy was born to a poor family in Jinjiang, China on December 25, 1924. He is the son of Henry H. Sy and Tan O Sia.
He completed his secondary education in a school now known as Chiang Kai Shek College and earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950.
Sy left China at the age of 12 to join his entrepreneurial father who operated a small business in Manila, Philippines. During World War II, Sy’s father returned to China but Henry stayed in Manila to make a life for himself in the world of retail. At 19, the future SM founder and chairman became a well-rounded merchandising middleman in his own right. Never one to rest on his laurels, however, Sy became store manager and partnered with an American shoe trader to take advantage of the local shoe manufacturing industry and develop relationships with the new foreign power in Manila. Sy opened his first sole-proprietor shoe store in Quiapo (a market center within Metro Manila) in 1948. The first Shoemart (SM) store opened in Carriedo (also in Metro Manila) in 1958.
SM eventually supplemented its shoe and apparel lines with accessories and developed into a household name synonymous with retailing throughout the Philippines. In time, department stores were transformed into ‘supermalls,’ which included a company-owned supermarket and appliance store, several retail tenants, and skating rinks in select malls. Sy pioneered the concept of one-stop shopping for leisure, dining, and entertainment, with SM supermalls positioned as the ideal place for families and friends to gather in air- conditioned comfort. The feel of the SM supermalls is represented in their slogan: ‘We’ve got it all for you.’
Henry Sy led his family’s economic return to China in 2003 with the opening of the first mall (120 000 square meters), in Xiamen. By 2007 Sy operated three malls located in Xiamen (Fujian Province), Chengdu (Sichuan Province), and Jiaxing City (Zhejiang Province). A fourth mall located on a seven-hectare property in Chongqing, China should be operational by 2009.
The year 2007 was a busy one for Henry Sy Sr as he received accolades and continued to expand his business empire. Sy, owner of the biggest chain of shopping malls in the Philippines (SM Prime operated 30 malls nationwide as of end 2007, 13 of which are in Metro Manila with a combined gross floor area of 3.9 million sq. meters and average daily shopping traffic of 2.5 million), received the award of Philippine Top Retailer at the 2007 Retail Asia Top 500 in Tokyo, Japan, and was conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Management (Honoris Causa) from the Board of Regents of the University of Guam (UOG).
At the same time, the SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall were cited by Forbes as two of the largest malls in the world. In addition to shopping centers and retail merchandising (SM Prime Holdings and SM Department Stores), Mr Sy and his family oversee the dynamic SM group including businesses in banking (Banco de Oro Universal Bank), real estate and tourism (SM Development Corp. and Highlands Prime, Inc.).
Hans Sy said in an interview the company will keep alive Henry’s Sy’s business philosophy of public service because he has proven that there is money to make serving the people.
Mr Sy is a retailer extraordinaire with investments throughout Asia, focusing on the Philippines and China. As a business leader, Sy is known to take well-calculated risks. On a personal level, the 82-year old maintains a low profile, preferring to work at home surrounded by his wife, Felicidad, and his six children. Sy generally avoids publicity and is known as a man of few words. At the same time, he is admired for his foresight, innovation, and passion for business and is an inspiration to entrepreneurs. In addition to his business empire, Sy contributes to the community through the SM Foundation Inc. Under the foundation’s four advocacy areas education, mall-based outreach, health, and religious community projects Sy helps the less fortunate in the communities SM serves.
one of the world’s most powerful women in business, is the daughter of Henry Sy who is a Chinese-Filipino owner of SM Investments Corporation
Mr. Herbert Sy currently holds top positions in a number of corporations across various industries.
the President of SM Investments Corp., since 2005 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer.
