Homegrown diamond
JEWELLERY MAGNATE SHARES THE WISDOM OF BEING FAMILY-FOCUSED
Whether they like it or not, kids will be involved in the business. So, they should be ready to assume responsibility. But I do respect their choices MARCELINO FLORETE, JR.
EVERY FRIDAY, MARCELINO FLOrete, Jr., the soon-to-be 73-year-old patriarch of the F&C Group of Companies, flies in from his hometown of Iloilo to spend the day in Manila. This is to attend to the many meetings, which often run for hours, back-toback, with his executive management team. This lean roster, comprised of his children and most trusted colleagues, leads an ever-growing corporate portfolio, now consisting of F&C Jewelry, Sbarro, Dulcinea, Estacio Uno, Boracay Uptown and Bohol Shores among a handful of others.
For these sorties, he usually takes a comfortable and convenient flight on a local carrier, usually the 6:20 a.m. slot to Manila, heading back home by around 7:30 p.m. the same day.“But I can be in different cities around the country every day, if need be!” says the charming silver-haired businessman.
As head of the F&C Group, Florete takes it upon himself to check on his businesses and visit his sites regularly. And with resorts in Bohol, Boracay, Cebu and Coron, he often cuts the time in travel and traffic by taking his own private transport. “If I’m not going to Manila, I board my private plane and go straight to where I need to go.” As extravagant as that sounds, it’s actually the more practical option, he insists, as “there are usually no direct flight [to where I need to go] from Iloilo.
“So instead of stopping over in Manila and wasting hours, I can go straight to work! Plus, I’m an old man. And I deserve to travel in a little bit of comfort, don’t I?” he says with an impish grin.
Trusted team
These trips are all in the name of business, and once he steps onto the hot asphalt of Metro Manila, his mind is all business as well.
He runs his empire with a tightknit group of trusted individuals, mainly of his children. Marissa FloreteGorriceta, the eldest of his brood of four, serves as the Executive Vice President (EVP) for the F&C Group and EVP for Merchandising for F&C Jewelry. A trained jeweler, she studied at the Gemological Institute of America for Diamond Grading and Jewelry Design. Marjorie, another daughter, is a product of the Gemological Institute of America, and is F&C Jewelry’s resident gemologist and EVP for Sales and Training. The only son, Marcelino III, an Accountancy graduate from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, with a Masters in Business Administration graduate of the Regis Program of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, is EVP for Audit and Finance for the F&C Group. Mary Christine Salome Florete is a lawyer and is chief legal counsel.
In its very essence, F&C Group is truly a homegrown family enterprise.
Family ties
F&C Group–a name taken after Florete and Caperonce (his wife Susan’s maiden name)–was set up on October 15, 1973, by the couple. It began with a humble store, called “F&C Pawnshop and Jewelry” along Guanco Street in Iloilo City.
Mrs. Florete’s mother, Cristina Orian Caperonce, was an alahera (jewellery saleswoman) from Bulacan, and her daughter inherited the interest and passion for the trade. Mr. Florete, on the other hand, also hails from a family of entrepreneurs but his family’s business dealt mainly with rice trading and realty. “But once I got
married, I [divested] from my family’s company and joined my wife, to venture on our own,” recalls Florete, who was then a young 20-something with big dreams and a bigger drive. F&C has since flourished and evolved from a mom-and-pop pawnshop to a premier jeweler and heirloom-maker, fronted by brand ambassadors like Bea Alonzo. Today, it marks 45 years in the market.
“And we’re celebrating our growing old by being young!” laughs Marissa, who is leading the milestone year with ambitious activities. Though a heritage brand, F&C jewelry embodies a youthful and modern spirit, buoyed by Marissa’s constant efforts to adapt the brand to the times, making it more competitive.
To date, there are an estimated 70 F&C boutiques across the country, and the number is continuing to grow! As a group, F&C is steadily expanding as well with more than 1,500 employees nationwide and its stable of hotels also burgeoning. Soon, two new brands–Isla Kaniki Palawan and Earl of Sandwich–will join their offerings.
Just what is Florete’s formula to choosing his enterprising endeavors? “It’s all about gut feel,” he says. He entered the food and hospitality fields with no experience, he admits, adding that that did not deter him from succeeding. “You can always learn. And that is why you should always be involved in the ins and outs, the ups and downs of your business.” This allows better understanding of the game and wiser decisions for the group, he adds.
Critical Skills
A sense of humility is another trait, which astute businessmen shouldn’t fail to keep in mind, Florete advises. “It’s knowing when to give up.” There are others who will push themselves to bankruptcy, he explains, even to the point of sacrificing the stability of their other enterprises for the sake of one, and this should never be the case. “That’s pride. If you feel and if you know it’s time to give up, then give up.”
Florete counts being strong-willed and focused as his strong points as a leader. He never forgets to look at the “bottom line.” Meaning, he says: “Will we gain or will we lose?” A numbers whiz, he combs through their finances with a meticulous eye and directs the overall company strategy. While he steers the group with a firm hand, he does give way to his daughters, especially Marissa, concerning the creative aspects of the business such as marketing, branding and design.
Marissa concurs: “I’m thankful that he gives us the room to grow in this aspect especially as the industry becomes more competitive.”
With the Group going great guns, Florete needs all his team members wired and pumped up. While many family businesses have had to deal with the challenge of succession, the Boss is proud and thankful that his offspring have embraced their duties and places in the scheme of things. “I believe that without the correct succession, it will all fail. I’ve seen so many businesses find their end this way,” he says.
Marissa agrees, saying, “We really never had a choice!” Even in grade school, she recalls spending summers at the pawnshop, watching and learning from her parents. “So, when it was my time to join, the question wasn’t ‘Do you want to?’ It was, ‘ When can you’?”
Her Papa believes: “Whether they like it or not (referring to his own and even the children of other entrepreneurs), they will also be involved in the business. They should be ready to assume responsibility. But I do respect their choices.”
There’s his daughter Christine, who has pursued her own career in law. “I’ve always believed, you can teach your children, advise them, but you can never impose. You make them see the importance of them being here and being involved. Now, if they don’t want to join, that’s ok. We [as parents and businessmen] propose, but can never impose,” he says.
“We do go and hire professionals, but I prefer to keep the leadership within the family. In business, I believe it should only be family members and no outsiders, not even in-laws.”
“Why, you ask?” he continues.
“Because if we quarrel among ourselves,
Stabilizing factors
Today, as the Group celebrates 45 years–after taking on the challenges of building a brand, expanding its portfolio, addressing the crucial issue of succession–the Florete family is now focused on moving forward to a new chapter of growth, and that is to stabilize the F&C Group.
“We want to professionalize and hire more support for the team because our newest acquisition–the hotel and hospitality business–is now in full gear,” Florete reports. The properties in Boracay, Baguio, Bohol and Coron are undergoing different stages of crucial development. “The fundamentals are in place, the land is ready for the hotels to be built, and so it’s a matter of rolling out the plans.”
While Florete oversees the food and hospitality brands, the girls, on the other hand, have their hands full with F&C Jewelry, which has become the figurative and literal “gold mine” of the F&C Group. According to Marissa, “I love what I do because this means more to me than just business. Your good name is your biggest capital, your best asset and your most prized legacy.”
F&C Jewelry, in fact, carries a certain sentimental cache, having been handed down from their lola, and passed onto their mother, who then handed it over to her daughters. Marissa’s own hija Bettina, although still an Ateneo college student, is slated to continue this legacy, joining her mom in Martina Bespoke, a social enterprise that aims to reintroduce a love for vintage inspired filigree tambourine jewelry.
“Are you tired?” BoardRoom Watch asks Florete, the energetic F&C Group patriarch. “Maybe,” he says, “but I’m still very driven. I have ambition, I have dreams so I don’t get weary easily. Work, especially if it’s important to you, requires you to be generous with your time and talent.
“And if you want to succeed, you must give it your all.” our bond is strong enough to overcome any issues of pride and hurt. If it’s with an outsider, it becomes tricky. So my policy is that we stick as a family.” That’s the secret to their success, preservation and continuity.
“It’s that aspect that I admire most about my dad,” Marissa says. “He believes in family, plus his tenacity and focus is admirable. He’s a master planner and organizer, and knows everything that’s happening within the company. So if you can get even just half of that talent, you’d be an impressive worker already.”
Marissa herself is becoming an inspiring leader and executive that people look up to, taking on the wisdom not only learned from her father but from her own experience at the head of the boardroom.
“I used to believe that [with good leadership] everybody had to be aligned with how you think. But over time, I realized that diversity is a good thing. When opinions and ideas differ, you find yourself thinking outside of the box and learning new things,” she says of some of her most important lessons as a boss.
I used to believe everybody had to be aligned with you. But I realized diversity is a good thing. When ideas differ, you begin to think outside of the box Marissa Florete-Gorriceta