Candy Corner didn’t have it easy from the beginning, says owner Ricky Andres in this interview with Pinoycentric. Like all businesses, they had to hurdle crises of all sorts–from a warehouse getting burned and almost losing everything, to proving that their concept was workable–before reaching sweet success.

PinoyCentric: You started as a toy importer back in the nineties. What kind of toys were you selling?
Ricky Andres: We started importing stationery, Disney toys, Crayola activity kits, and original Disney and Barney VHS tapes, and in 1995 we finally got the exclusive distribution rights for Lisa Frank. We didn’t have a store, but we wanted one so badly so we used all our connections to get a space at Glorietta.

After two years of trying, we finally got a space in 1996, but we couldn’t open our store because most of our products were already available in Rustans, SM, and a couple of boutiques in Makati. It didn’t make much sense for us to compete with our retailers. So as not to miss the opportunity, we proposed to open a candy store instead. This was the birth of Candy Corner.

What were your struggles when you started with Candy Corner and how did you cope with these?
The hardest part was getting the opportunity to be noticed by the mall lessors. We were a nobody with a concept that was unheard of and unappreciated. It was very difficult to convince the leasing managers that our brand and concept will suit the mall and the market. Well, that’s if we even get an appointment. We had to pull strings and really maximize our network to find links to the decision makers in Ayala and SM.

When did you first allow a franchise? What were the problems that you encountered with this decision?
We first thought of franchising back in 1997. The concept of franchising was still very new at that time, so it took a while for us to finally agree. We sought the help of Francorp Philippines in 1998, and it took us almost a year to complete our franchise manuals. We launched the program in 1999. It took us another year to get our first franchisee because we had to prove that our business was viable and not a fad. At the time, people had the impression that our business was just a fad and would not continue beyond two years. People also could not accept that selling candy was a profitable and serious business.

Are all of the candy brands you carry imported? Can you name your top five brands?
About 95 percent of our candies are imported. The exclusive brands we carry are Tootsie Roll and its affiliate brands, Jelly Belly, Concord Confections, Park Lane Gummies, and General Candy.

What are Candy Corner’s advocacies?
We consider our campaign for responsible drinking and driving a part of our corporate social responsibility program. We plan to continue this campaign to include alternatives for smokers like convincing them to munch on gum, Jelly Beans, or even lollipop instead of smoking.

You have branched out into different candy shops. How are Buzzy Bees, Nuts About Candy, Snak Shack, Good to Go, and Cacao different from Candy Corner?
Buzzy Bees is a kids’ cafe located exclusively in Rustan’s Department Store. Buzzy Bees is an interactive café that has been reinvented to include Candy Corner products in its menu. Kids can create their own ice cream sundaes using candies from our bins and also have the opportunity to make pizzas and twirl their own cotton candies.

Nuts About Candy (NAC) is exclusively located in high-end cinemas. It caters to the older market—ages 21 to 50—so it offers chocolates, chips, nuts, cookies, and beverages aside from candies.

Snack Shack is very similar to Nuts About Candy, but the brand has popcorn and hot meals in its menu.

Good to Go is our ticket out of the mall. It’s located at the ground floor of office buildings near residential condominiums and accessible to office workers and call center employees. It’s an upscale convenience store that offers snacks, hot meals, beverages, and liquor.

Cacao is an all-chocolate store that sells chocolates by weight.

How are you coping with the declining value of the dollar, since most of your merchandise are imported?
The declining value of the dollar is favorable for our business. That means we use less pesos for every dollar we need. We used to trade during the lowest value of the peso, when it was P56 to $1. So the current rate of P43 to $1 is helping cope with the ever-increasing prices of fuel, labor, and rent.

What were the lessons you learned in the last decade managing Candy Corner?
We can probably write a book with the wealth of lessons we learned after 11 years with Candy Corner. There is so much covering human resources, finance, marketing, and merchandising.
We learned never to lose hope [despite the obstacles that we came upon.] We probably hit rock bottom when a fire in September 1999 burned down our entire office and warehouse. We had just brought in several containers of candies in preparation for the holidays when the fire hit, so we lost a lot of money and probably borrowed twice the amount we were actually worth.

“Baon sa utang” [saddled with debts] was how we were that time. Despite this, we continued working hard, thought things out more carefully, and prayed harder than usual.

During our trying times, we lost friends and found out who the real ones were. We also found out that while family can’t always help financially, simply having them around may be enough. Looking back, we realized that our saviors were our dedicated employees who stuck it out with us. When we couldn’t afford overtime pay and employee benefits, our loyal employees understood, sacrificed, and stood by our side. Without them, we won’t be where we are today.

Wise handling of finances was the key to our growth. My wife Bubu handled the finances of the company. She didn’t have much background in finance, but she always had the inclination and love for numbers. What she did in managing our finances was miraculous! We had a lot of debts and so little funds, but she was able to rebuild our company from the ashes and even surpass our business size back in 1999.

Read about other Pinoy entrepreneurs:
Cerealicious and Its Chamber of Secrets
Search Over for the Perfect Shirt
Ingenuity of the Young Pinoy Entrepreneur
Making Bags Out of Newspapers