Letting go

While I have never watched the movie “Frozen,” the song “Let It Go” has left a bit of scar tissue in my ears from all the people who somehow related to the song. For some time I had been reciting the title to my friend Willie Soong in order to help him to let go of a brand/business he built up solely on his passionate commitment, personal and professional charm and sheer tenacity. I recently read in the papers that he has finally “Let it Go.” For nearly 20 years, Willie Soong invested, struggled and built up the reputation of Jaguar and Land Rover in the Philippines. Many remember the old imported Jaguars that always boiled over, had the most expensive parts and seemed almost impossible to maintain due to the absence of qualified mechanics or service center. Then there is the Land Rover brand that Marc Soong transitioned from a leaky aluminum tub that always dropped nuts and bolts, into one of the most “sosyal” SUVs in the country as well as building pride of ownership through the Land Rover Club.

Willie Soong and his sons and their loyal employees worked through all of that and slowly but successfully built up a positive brand reputation, set up a full compliment service center, and opened what has been for several years one of the best and most attractive showrooms in the country situated at the Fort in BGC. But what set Willie Soong apart from the competition is that every transaction was “personal.” Buyers and owners were not mere customers, they were friends, some even became Compadres or Comares, Uncles or Kuyas.  Yes, he had account specialists, but everybody could call any of the Soongs directly and almost always, one of them had a handle on the matter. Their 20-year journey was no walk in the park either as they faced challenges from “gray market imports,” shake down artists in government, inefficiency and incompetence in government agencies that delayed releases of clearances, and registration and more. In fact there have been earlier occasions when I feared for Willie’s health and emotions that I have in past told them to chuck it before it killed him!

Unfortunately dedication, sacrifice and the best of personal relationships  is no longer currency under the new world order being set up by TATA, the global owners of Jaguar/Land Rover. As a result, Willie was for some time under pressure to “grow the business,” invest ridiculous sums of money in bigger facilities and order many times the stock that the market could absorb. In short, the new masters at Jaguar Land Rover wanted their long time partner to make them look good without having to spend a single Indian rupee or the dealership would go to anyone who has more money and too little brains or too much greed and ambition.

As it turns out Willie and the Philippine dealership was not alone. I recently learned that the oldest Jaguar dealership in the United Kingdom has thrown in the towel as well and is returning two “Royal Warrants” that entitles Creamer and Sons to supply Jaguars and Land Rovers to England’s royal family. The dealership has been in business for many decades and they have supplied vehicles to Queen Elizabeth, to the Queen Mother, and to Prince Charles. In their announcement that I picked up on the net, Creamer and Sons were quoted on the reason for their closure:

“This is due in no small part to the changes in our business that we have been forced to face which have challenged us in a way that we now feel that we cannot sustain the current model or rationalize the level of investment required.”

It was certainly a polite and proper way of saying stick this business up where the sun don’t shine! But should we simply shake our heads and reassure the Soongs of our loyalty and support and swear never to buy another Jaguar or Land Rover ever? The situation is far more disturbing than that. Such closures or transfer of dealerships is not the first to be instigated by a car manufacturer. A number of dealerships have been awarded in the past and when the brand survives the set-up stage and starts making money, the manufacturer awards the dealership to someone else or takes over the local business. One brand even directly competes with their dealers by having their own dealership.

What about the 10, 20 or 30 years and the millions of pesos and man-hours they invested? So far, most of the people pushed out got nothing for surviving and building the brand. Given how much money manufacturers make locally, it is high time for Government and Congress to look into protecting the interest of Filipino businessmen as well as insuring the stability of business and consumer confidence. Greed and expansionist obsessions of foreign companies must never be at the expense of Filipino partners and customers. If foreign investors demand protection and security, they should likewise guarantee protection or compensation for partners. Just like in divorce, there must be a price to pay.

*      *      *

I have been receiving a lot of complaints and messages of concern regarding a so-called Bangko Sentral rule that people issuing or receiving checks are no longer allowed to fold them, staple them etc. I might not have read the memo, but I have not heard or read about the No fold-No staple rule either in mainstream media or social media.

Most of the complaints are from women who obviously manage company or family finances and therefore are directly in charge of issuing or receiving checks and depositing them. The number one complaint is that standard checks don’t fit in all wallets or purses because wallet designs and sizes are different. Accountants staple checks because it prevents the accompanying documents or receiving slips from falling out. Yesterday I realized that the envelopes in church are regular small envelopes while checks are “legal size.” I hope this so-called rule is just a myth and that the BSP can sort it out because there are far more important issues than folded checks!

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]