With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from De La Salle University, Mr. Sy has always seen himself as a lifelong entrepreneur.He attributed his skills as a businessman to his formal education and experience, working his way up from a physical shop selling cellphone accessories. In the early days of e-commerce, he started as a single proprietor, doing wholesale for online merchants in 2012.
By 2016, Great Deals was able to onboard its first multinational company. In five months, the company’s online business surged 500%, making it the #1 home care brand on Lazada. Mr. Sy also made his own sneaker brand the #1 fashion brand on Lazada, beating bigger fashion companies. Great Deals uses a business-to-business-to-consumer model with the main business providing e-digital business management support for brands. It offers digital solutions as add-ons that clients can use to help boost online sales. “That’s why we’re an online distributor and online retailer rolled into one,” Mr. Sy said.
He revealed his greatest challenge was fulfilling a very large order during a Lazada birthday sale when he underestimated and only prepared a third of the actual orders that came in for a personal care brand. He had to ask his client to help pack and process the immense volume of orders, even reaching out to other suppliers and hiring temporary packers, as order cancellations could cost him his biggest client. From then on, Mr. Sy learned to always prepare for anything.