70 years of the National Book Store tradition

MANILA, Philippines - National Book Store was founded by the late Jose Ramos along with his wife Socorro Cancio-Ramos, the company has evolved from a small stall into the most popular bookstore chain in the Philippines.

The first National Book Store started as a stall shop in Escolta where it sold supplies, GI novels, and textbooks. When World War II broke out, strict book censorship forced them to shift their trade to soap, candies, and slippers. They bought their merchandise from wholesalers and peddled them to smaller retailers.

The whole Escolta area was burned to the ground during the Battle of Manila and the couple was forced to rebuild by initially making a makeshift stall in the corner of Soler st. and Avenida Rizal Avenue in Manila  in time to catch the post-war business boom. They went back to business by selling textbooks, notebooks, pad paper, and pencils. Business went very well to their favor as there were only few stores that sold school supplies and books at that time. National Book Store’s opening was strategically timed to welcome the first postwar school year.

In the 1940s Typhoon Gene destroyed the store and soaked all the merchandise. The couple with their family decided to rebuild again, and slept for only three hours a day, spending the rest of their hours at work. They eventually constructed a two-story building with a mezzanine, which was to become their retail store for many years.

In the 1960s, Socorro Cancio-Ramos thought of producing a line of greeting cards and postcards using Philippine views and artwork. It was a move that paid off well for her to earn more. By creating a distinct design, it would promote Filipino customs and traditions to the rest of the world. Later on, they acquired the Philippine franchise for Hallmark cards. It was also at this time that the they began a publishing program through the assistance of international publishers such as McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, Lippincott, Addison-Wesley, and others.

In 1955 the Ramoses were able to acquire a piece of prime property owned by the Guerreros. They started construction of the nine-story Albecer Building, named after the first two letters of their three children’s names—Alfredo, Benjamin, and Cecilia, with the understanding for the family name. It was the first of many that they would build over the course of several years.