Philippine Business Magazine: Volume 8 No. 3 - Enterprise
Listen & Learn
A father-and-son team makes use of recorded information to facilitate the learning process

Twenty years ago, Rodolfo Torres convinced his mother to lend him P20,000 that was left behind by a brother who had recently died. He used the money to produce his own line of educational VHS tapes, cassette tapes, and books. With that, Listen-N-Learn Enterprises was born.

Torres’ 25-year-old son John, who took over as Listen-N-Learn’s business development manager only this year, recalled that his father was looking for something more meaningful to do and thought of producing children’s books and tapes. The elder Torres was then a human-interest writer of the pre-Martial Law television newscast, Evening News.

“He produced the tapes and the books with the help of his friends,” John narrates. In the beginning, his father would even go from house to house to sell his products. The response to the products was very favorable. “One of his customers even commented that whoever thought of coming up with this product would become really rich,” John continues. “Of course, my dad could not tell him that he was looking at him.”

“Being the first in this line of business is a really big boost because no one remembers the second”

Growing It Out
With the success of his tapes and books, the elder Torres decided to purchase his own printing press in 1984 in Sta. Mesa, Manila. The following year, he acquired his own office space along Aurora Boulevard in Cubao, Quezon City to deal with his numerous dealers and to serve as a warehouse for the products.

By 1991, Rodolfo Torres had made enough money to acquire sophisticated audiovisual and editing equipment. That was the time when he decided to convert his books and tapes into VHS formats.

According to John, their products do not rely heavily on mascots but on repetition and a lot of songs. He learned through various studies that children absorb more using their senses of sight and hearing combined. “One of our bestsellers is Musical Multiplication because children learn how to multiply by repeatedly listening to the multiplication song.”

To date, Rodolfo Torres has produced about 50 titles covering a wide range of subjects like nursery rhymes, the alphabet, reading, writing, mathematics, shapes, colors, sounds, and even science.

Personal Sales
Rodolfo Torres’ marketing tack centered on personal sales. He always believed that using big department stores and bookstores to carry his produces will not do his business any good. John explains: “If they are going to be sold in these stores, they will just be displayed there and nobody will be there to explain the benefits of our products. Through our independent dealers, our potential customers can view the products before buying them.”

To date, Listen-N-Learn Enterprises has over 1,000 dealers spread out all over the country. “We give them really good deals,” John proudly states. Since the selling of the products is left to the dealers, John maintains an administrative staff of only two persons. His other employees man the printing press.

“I am really a hands-on manager,” John elaborates when asked about his management style. “I lead by example so that my employees will be motivated to give the best that they can.” John is “carinoso” with his staff and treats them like members of the family. “I try to strike a balance with them. I am sensitive to their needs but at the same time, I push them to work hard.”

John attributes the success of his father’s venture to the fact that the elder Torres was the first to come up with his own line of educational materials. “Being the first in this line of business is a really big boost because no one remembers the second,” he explains. Not only were they the first to come out with educational VHS tapes and cassettes, Listen-N-Learn was also the first to convert these VHS tapes into VCDs when VCDs started to become popular last year.

Going Interactive
With the onset of information technology, John came up with Listen-N-Learn Interactive only last January where he intends to offer his own educational software. “My father really believed in having a very good educational background and my brothers and I benefited from that.”

These days, John is busy marketing Baby Wow!, an award winning computer software from the U.S. The software teaches parents how to raise brighter children. Listen-N-Learn Interactive was awarded exclusive distribution rights for the CD-ROM.

In addition to developing more educational software, John also plans to meet with his dealers on a more regular basis. “I think I owe it to them because they are the ones who are my frontliners and they do a lot of hard work,” he says. “They deserve to be updated about what is happening in the company and what new products are being cooked up.”

Lessons for Others
For those who are planning to put up a similar business, John advises that they look for other subjects to focus on. “There are a lot of subjects that can be dealt with like how to drive a car or deal with other science subjects.” More importantly, John explains that you should have a great idea and should produce it yourself.

“So long as you believe in your product, you will succeed. If you don’t have the money, start small. There are a lot of shops out there who will be most willing to rent out their equipment at reasonable prices.”