hile he was taking his undergraduate at the Ateneo de Manila University, 34-year-old Jonathan Jay Aldeguer would spend his free time peddling t-shirts to his friends.
A backpack traveler of Europe back then, Aldeguer would collect shirts from one city to another to serve as both souvenir and extra change of clothes. After graduating, he explored the Philippines and thought of doing the same. The results, however, were not very promising.
“When I went to Baguio, for instance, the shirt that I bought was the same shirt that I bought ten years ago,” he said. “You would not have expected something like that from Baguio because it is one of our country’s premier destinations but that was the scenario and they were selling t-shirts that were of inferior quality.”
Upon returning home to Cebu, Aldeguer developed a concept that would market souvenir items – items that were different from the handicrafts and the native crafts that everyone was used to.
“The idea that I had would highlight the color and the fiestas that the country is famous for,” he said. “It would go beyond the cottage industry level.”
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Aldeguer’s Islands Souvenirs has really gone places with its wide range of colorful items with creative designs |
With an initial capitalization of P200,000, Aldeguer opened the first Islands Souvenirs cart at the White Gold Department Store in Cebu City. He distinctly remembered shelling out P1,500 for a bamboo and nipa cart to sell shirts, caps, bags, mugs, stickers, and post cards to tourists and locals. In less than six months, Aldeguer was given an 80 square meter space for his outlet. If he could not get any space in the department stores, he would open up stalls in areas where tourists abound. These places included restaurants, airports, and beach hotels.
Islands Souvenirs was such a big hit that it was not long before Aldeguer had 28 company-owned store outlets, close to 70 department store outlets, and stores in Okinawa, Singapore, Hawaii, and San Francisco.
“We experienced a growth rate of 360 percent on the first year and an average of 80 percent for the next six years,” he said. “We were able to come up with a premier souvenir brand.”
Company Name: Islands
Souvenirs
Owner: Jonathan Jay Aldeguer
Business Line: Souvenir items like t-shirts, caps, mugs, bags, etc.
Date of Establishment:: March 1992
Years in Operation: 12 years
Capitalization: P200,000
Number of Employees: More than 200
Number of Outlets/Branches: About 140 outlets in the Philippines and a number of franchises outside of the country
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Aldeguer started with less than ten people in his employ, four of whom were artists. Describing himself as a “frustrated artist,” Aldeguer is usually the one who comes up with ideas for the designs of their products and leaves the execution to his artists. Now that his business has grown to more than 140 outlets, his employees have grown to about 200.
As for his management style, Aldeguer feels that it is important for the owner of the business to set the vision for the company and to allow his employees to grow. He describes himself as being a relaxed employer and is willing to listen to his employees’ suggestions.
“Just because I own the business does not mean that I know everything about it,” he said. “There are occasions when my business decisions have been overturned by my employees because they feel that there is something else that can be done and I am very open to that.”
While Islands Souvenirs was able to establish a presence in Davao, Bacolod, Cagayan De Oro, and in other parts of Mindanao and the Visayas region, it was only in 1995 when it was able to penetrate the markets in Luzon, with outlets in SM Megamall, SM Centerpoint, and SM North Edsa in Metro Manila.
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