Case Study

Case. 1 ALMA ELECTRONICS: I’ll Dream Of You

Mr. Andi Mallari opened a small shop selling transistor radios in 1979. His store was located at one corner (General Luna St.) of the entire stretch of Burgos Avenue, the main through fare of Cabanatuan City.

The demand for electronic parts made him carry a wide assortment of parts that are used in the assembly and maintenance of radios, tape recorders, amplifiers, and various related appliances.

By 1990, Mr. Mallari was able to save enough money for the purchase of 300 square meter lot along Del Pilar Street. He constructed a 10 meters x 15 meters two-storey building on the lot. The ground floor is used as his store month after month. The second floor is used as his residence.

Mr. Mallari thinks that he can duplicate his feat in the other big towns of San Jose City, Gapan, and Guimba. He has already started operating his stores in those towns and sales and repair. There are five salesladies in Cabanatuan attending to the various needs of the customers. Those who bring their appliances for repair are served by one of the six technicians. The parts used come from the stocks maintained at the store.

Those who purchase parts from the store consist of technicians. The parts used come from the various towns of Nueva Ecija. Sometimes, the technicians send somebody to do the purchasing of parts.

Mr. Mallari’s perspective has changed drastically after he met his former classmate Estelito Chan in a class reunion at the Araullo University. Mr. Chan has a well-established appliance assembly plant in Manila. He indicated that he did not start big but rather as a subcontructor for a large assembly plant. Slowly, Mr. Chan’s business picked up until he was able to establish his own factory.

Mr. Mallari thinks that he can follow the footsteps of his friend. As he is already 47 years old and his oldest child is about ready to enter college, he thinks this is the best time for him to consider sending his son to an engineering school. His...