Greenhills a booming tiangge town

Combining business acumen that benefits consumers and entrepreneurs alike, the Greenhills Shopping Mall lure people from all walks of life and that with common sense, one can overcome the seemingly-endless economic pinch in our midst today, according to Henry Babiera, president and chief executive officer of Prime Asia Trade Planner and Convention Organizer (PATEPCO).

Babiera recalled Greenhills has its origins in a 17-hectare prime property constructed in the early 60s as an upscale shopping promenade. Located in the San Juan-Mandaluyong junction, shoppers then were only rich residents of the area and its immediate surroundings.

Greenhills was the place to be if you were looking for first-class imported goods – RTWs, authentic leather bags and food items. Virramall and Shoppesville stood as landmarks with few systematically lined-up food joints.

However, the tiangge concept soon inched its way right in the heart of Greenhills but not before Babiera toured Asian countries such as Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and China to observe the flea market scheme of doing business with a minimal paid-up capital.

Wanting to introduce a variety of business with a minimal paid-up capital and to encourage people to engage in livelihood ventures, he grasped the principle of vertical integration.

In other words, the PATEPCO chief knew that in a country such as the Philippines, the best way to ensure success was to introduce and take control of the basics, which he did.

He hinted that the tiangge mall concept would be best to introduce in shopping malls wherever they are, but his counterpart sneered at the idea warning him that it would cheapen the exclusivity of the mall. Thanks to the owners of the property, the well-heeled Ortigases who agreed to his suggestions, they encouraged him to proceed with his plans.

"Thanks to the owners of the property, they backed my idea and Greenhills soon became a proverbial beehive of business and shopping activities," he enthused. "Not only that, tiangge sprouted all over the country, following suit after the Greenhills tiangge – thus giving jobs to countless unemployed and underemployed, while at the same time augmenting the income of small-medium entrepreneurs (SMEs)," he added.

The tianggeros (term he coined referring to people in the tiangge business) gradually learned, and their ingenuity to venture into other lines of business even if there is scarcity of capital were honed." So after all these years of dreaming big not only for myself but for all our fellowmen, my long struggle for the good of the common weal paid off," Babiera said. "I wish all of us Filipinos would be self-sufficient, not necessarily rich," he added.

Comparatively, he cited these figures: A beautifully crafted earthen jar costs only P2,200 at the tiangge – abroad it would cost $200, a lampshade made of pili nut shell found in a famous spa in Switzerland costs P18,000 here, but is valued at $500 and up abroad. Likewise, ladies’ trinkets and men’s accessories cost only P25 to P300 in the tiangge, sell for $3 and up abroad.

Adding up to the success of Greenhills Shopping Mall, now a boomtown, is the fair treatment given to tianggeros – Muslims, Catholics, Protestant, etc. Babiera hailed the visibility of Muslim, businessmen – "they boost our tiangge trade because our Muslim brothers sell really low-priced items."

With Babiera’s methods tried and tested, and his company in place, Greenhills continues to add on business – ones that easily integrate and others that blaze new ventures.