Goldilocks’ Franklin Go: Steering Phl toward Asean franchising dominance

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine business players have now further intensified preparations for the integration of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) into one market economy next year.  They expect radical changes in the way business will be conducted in the region.

 Asean groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.  Waiting to be accepted into its roster is East Timor which now enjoys an Observer status in the group. Together, they constitute a whopping more than 600 million strong consumer market.

For certain, the Philippine business sectors, including its franchising industry, will not be spared from the changes that will result from the projected Asean common market.  Thus the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) has primed itself to lend a helping hand to enable franchising stakeholders to survive and even thrive in a challenging business climate that will be ushered in by the Asean integration.

PFA is led by its president Franklin D. Go, vice-president of Goldilocks, now a global brand with more than 400 local and international stores.  Go’s experience in bringing Goldilocks to the global arena is expected to serve PFA well in a highly competitive Asean Economic Community (AEC). 

“This year, the PFA is really focusing on the Asean integration. That is why speakers tapped for our Franchise Asia Philippines 2014 will talk about it and its impact on the Philippines,” Go emphasized, adding that the looming Asean integration also offers challenging prospects and opportunities for local franchise sector players.

“In Asean, you’re looking at a customer base of 600 million people. To take advantage of this, business firms should prepare themselves,” he noted.

Go well understands the importance of preparation to ensure the success of a brand beyond the country’s borders.  He himself had experienced what it takes to establish Goldilocks operations in foreign settings where their brand was unheard of before.

Goldilocks is a home-grown company headquartered in Metro Manila. Go recounted the challenges they had when they first expanded in the Visayas and Mindanao due to logistical and regional preferences.

“So when you go inter-island, you already get a preview of how it is to go to Asean,” he shared.

With its emphasis on preparations, customer service and franchising, Goldilocks has established its niche in US/North America and in Thailand.

Real-life ‘happily ever after’

Goldilocks has come a long way from its humble origin as a small bakeshop opened by two sisters and a sister-in-law along Pasong Tamo St. in Makati City in 1966.  The venture was named “Goldilocks” after a fairy tale character, to make it easier for children and their mothers to remember the bakeshop’s name with a tinge of good luck.

Go, who belongs to the second generation of the company’s founders, was exposed to the bakeshop operations  since he was 10 years old.

Later on, Go was assigned as cashier and learned more about the financial aspects of their family business. He worked in their Goldilocks bakeshop until he left for abroad to further study baking. “I was abroad when my mom told me she wanted to retire. I volunteered to go home sometime in 1989.  We only had 19 stores then,” he said.

Go also attributes Goldilocks’ exponential growth  to one particular instance sometime in the 1990s. “My father said we had a month to open a franchised store. We had to create the system in a month’s time. If it wasn’t for my father’s persistence, Goldilocks would not be where it is now,” he added.

Aside from hard work and franchising, Go believes Goldilocks’ success stems from their commitment to their customers. This, he said, is the reason why Goldilocks is constantly raising the bar in terms of new products and company innovations. 

“It’s actually for our consumers, how else can we service them, our founders always say. We are doing this for them, delighting our customers,” he said. 

“Everytime we see a celebration and we see a Goldilocks product, we feel as if we have helped Filipino families in our own small way,” Go enthused.

 This commitment is not left unnoticed by Filipinos, so much so that telling the story of Filipino families will not be complete without sharing Goldilocks’ saga. 

 For over 45 years, Goldilocks has shared in the countless precious memories of birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions celebrated by Filipinos. The success of Goldilocks is truly a “real-life happily ever after,” one which Go would like to see in other local franchises. 

Through PFA, Go hopes to help other home-grown brands achieve the kind of success Goldilocks now enjoys. He believes that with the help of their members, PFA could help other smaller companies experience their own “happily ever after” real life.

The 2014 edition of Franchise Asia Philippines will gather leading international experts who will engage in the challenges, prospects  and opportunities presented by the 2015 Asean market integration.  Experts  who are regarded as gurus in their respective fields have been invited as resources speakers on various subjects revolving around the changing trends in shopping and consumer preferences.

Franchise Asia Philippines 2014, Asia’s biggest 4-in-1 franchise event slated on July 16-20 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, banners the theme: “Conquering an Integrated Asean.

 FAPHL 2014, organized by the PFA and supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), GoNegosyo, the World Franchise Council (WFC) and the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation (APFC), is the grandest and most-attended franchising event in Asia. For inquiries, please call the PFA Secretariat at (632) 687-0365 to 67 or (63917) 832-0732, or e-mail [email protected] (general inquiries); [email protected] (CFE), [email protected] (conference) or [email protected] (expo).