The French Baker.

Straight from the Horse's Mouth

Larry Page, co-founder of Google, once made this all-important truism in business: “Always deliver more than expected.” These words remind me of none other than Johnlu Koa – The French Baker Philippines's visionary creator, as I had the distinct honor of reconnecting with him recently. l remembered him telling his class to always “under-promise and over-deliver,” way back when he was still my Marketing Professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) more than 33 years ago. But what else is there to say about French Baker’s iconic founder that has not been disclosed or written about in our magazines, dailies, books and blog sites?

How he – from a single store in SM City North Edsa Annex in September of 1989 – took the bread and bakeshop industry by storm and revolutionized the bread-making business in the country within just three months after launch?

How he was able to win the predominantly rice-eating masses over with his European-style luxury bread varieties – such as baguettes, croissants, Danish pastries and fruit tarts – previously unknown to the ordinary Filipino within their reach?

How he continues to surprise his foreign competitors through constant innovation, clever marketing, and adroit expansion – which now has more than 52 outlets, two upscale boulangerie-bistros called Lartizan, a thriving global franchise tea-house chain Chatime Philippines, and several other brands that serve a slew of different markets; and,

How he was able to sweep the most prestigious accolades, among them: TOYM Philippines: The Outstanding Young Men Awards for Entrepreneurship; the UP Alumni Association's Professional Award in the Field of Entrepreneurship; the University of the Philippines (UP)'s Most Distinguished Alumnus Award; the Philippine Marketing Association’s Agora Award for “Marketing Company of the Year;” and Ernest And Young's "Emerging Master Entrepreneur of the Year" among many others?

You would most likely know: Then, until now, he is the envy of many aspiring young people. He epitomized the new breed of young entrepreneurs in the '90s: educated and a “generalist,” skilled and knowledgeable in every facet of the trade he specializes in, and armed with the marketing know-how to help catapult a business opportunity to phenomenal success.

His is not your typical rags-to-riches story. Johnlu comes from a family of entrepreneurs. His father pioneered the shirt manufacturing in the country; his mother opened a chain of restaurants. He was the third child of five brothers – all named John. At an early age, his parents would often buy him toys that he would later sell to his classmates and neighbors. Seeing his rosy perspective in every opportunity, I’d reckon that he never suffered what we call the “middle child syndrome.”

In Xavier School, he was one of the more active student leaders from the Class of 1975, being a member of the Sodality and the Pelota Club. Today, he arguably enjoys a higher level of name recall than some of his more prominent classmates with the likes of former Energy Secretary Vince Perez, Belle Corporation's Willy Ocier, SM Prime Holdings' Herbert Sy, and CATS Motors Philippines' Greg Yu. In fact, he was such a ubiquitous presence in our alma mater that I remember him leading our membership oath for the entire Class of 1984 when we were formally inducted in the Alumni Association of Xavier School (AAXS) during our commencement ceremonies – even when he wasn’t the alumni association president.

Unlike the successful entrepreneurs we have come to know, Johnlu's first job after he graduated "cum laude" from the U.P. College of Business Administration (now, the Virata School of Business, UP Diliman) in 1979 was not in some swanky Makati office or in his parents' oven-scorched bakery; it was at a classroom where he taught marketing and management for fifteen years. He even served as our College Secretary for two non-consecutive terms and proved to be an effective administrator. It was here that I got to know him more as my assistant professor in Market Research who instilled in me the significance of proper product positioning and adroit market segmentation. I recall telling him then that among all our college professors whom I have had the privilege to learn from, he was the one whom I respected the most because he was the only one from among the roster of faculty members then who was a practicing entrepreneur.

He established the now-thriving Honey Bread Bakery when he was still teaching and would wake up early to deliver his delectable treats of "tasty," "pandesal" and "monay" to the stores – still fresh and piping hot – with his ol' reliable Ford Fiera before going to his morning classes to teach.

On the early Summer of 1989, the morning of my graduation from U.P., I distinctly recall him taking me aside and – together with then College Dean Cesar Saldaña – tried to offer me a teaching job in the college just an hour before I was handed my diploma, promising me several tempting perks – among them, loads of paid leaves, semestral breaks, Christmas breaks, typhoon breaks, and free MBA tuition. Knowing fully well that my parents would kill me if I took that offer, I decided to decline the job with a heavy heart. That was probably the first and only time in his career that the "Great Marketer" ever made an unsuccessful pitch. But, as they say, hindsight is always 20/20. Looking back now and seeing the great disparity of our fortunes today, I should have taken that teaching offer – in a desperate, yet feeble attempt to retrace and perhaps duplicate his footsteps. Then again, I am not my teacher. After all, how many academics can turn themselves into business legends? Not many. But he will always be at the top of my list.

He is indeed an inspiration to what an entrepreneur can learn and achieve with a trailblazing, risk-taking and pioneering spirit. Here's to many more years of leavening aspirations and kneading dreams!