Millennial Pinay invests on convenience

Arra Helen Rose Baron (middle) is ready to handle the demands of running her first 7-Eleven store franchise. Wisdom, as they say, often comes with maturity. But today’s generation of young Filipino entrepreneurs prove otherwise, with a growing number of them successfully achieving their goals regardless of age. One of them is 25-year-old Arra Helen Rose Baron, whose youthful vigor to succeed early in life led her to an even bigger fulfilment: becoming the pioneer 7-Eleven franchisee in Nueva Vizcaya that helped bring not just modern convenience but also significant growth opportunities for herself and for the Novo Vizcayanos.

A province with brewing economic potential, Nueva Vizcaya recently welcomed a major milestone with the arrival of convenience store chain giant 7-Eleven, which two flagship outlets — located in the municipalities of Santa Fe (Baron’s first franchise store) and Bambang – finally opened to serve Novo Vizcayano patrons.

Owning and managing her own convenience store has been a long time coming. Capitalizing on the rising popularity of fast convenient service and modern retail shopping, Baron said choosing to franchise a well-known brand was a no-brainer.

“It’s fulfilling for someone my age to own a 7-Eleven franchise. It’s also a great blessing from Him. It’s very fulfilling to open my first store after applying for it three years ago. It was one of the first things I wanted to do when I graduated due to the uptrend of the convenience store channel and the increasing interest of Filipinos to convenience. On why I chose 7-Eleven, it’s because it’s already an established corporation internationally. The confidence and trust in the brand is there because they have been in the business for more than 30 years so it’s no question that it was one of my top choices,” Baron said.

Having acquired various skill sets—a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and bachelor’s degree in Management Major in Corporate Business from Assumption College Makati—and with her family being in the distribution business, Baron has a good grasp of the target market and the possible sales in the areas where she aims to put up stores.

Apart from being a 7-Eleven franchise operator, Baron runs other businesses. She is the owner of Sentro Streat Food Park and she also currently works at their family business as the general sales manager of Monde Nissin product distribution in Region 2 and the operations manager of Marilen Freight Services.

“My family has been really my rock in this whole thing and have really helped me set up my businesses from the start. They’ve also taught me business lessons that I can’t learn in school that helped in setting up the foundation of my franchise business,” she added.

To further strengthen her maturity and readiness to handle the demands of running a franchise, Baron underwent the standard classroom and in-store training and trained at the Ortigas office and at a corporate store in Tarlac for about a month. Her background in the distribution business, according to her, helped her understand better the 7-Eleven system and processes.

“7-Eleven is the ideal business especially when you’re a young adult in your 20s. Millennials like myself, I can say, can really appreciate the automated systems and processes set in place by 7-Eleven. Thus, making it also very easy to comprehend even for start-up entrepreneurs,” Baron noted.

Describing the challenge of being the first 7-Eleven franchisee in Nueva Vizcaya and the pressure of setting the standard for 7-Eleven stores in Region 2 as both overwhelming and fulfilling, Baron is confident that she will be successful in growing the business.

“Hopefully, we get to grow with 7-Eleven. I have a positive outlook on my first stores. I know PSC will help me in building the 7-Eleven brand in the cities that I will set-up my stores.

Brand loyalty is very hard to earn in this area. Considering that this is the first time that 7-Eleven has entered Region 2, it will be a challenge because people here are more attracted to the price than to the brand. It will be a very nice challenge and hopefully if we surpass it, it will easily translate to sales,” she added.

Welcoming guests and customers during the branch opening are store franchisee Arra Baron (first row, fifth from right), together with the Philippine Seven Corporation officials and managers led by PSC business development division unit head Ulysses Borral (first row, sixth from right) and Sta. Fe Vice Mayor Jonathan Tinadaan (third from left). Expanding opportunities

By bringing in the business of modern convenience, Baron played a key part in stirring economic development through income generation, employment and business opportunities for growth-minded Novo Vizcayanos.

In addition to her first 7-Eleven outlet, Baron is currently in the process of setting up four more stores in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya and Santiago, Isabela. “These areas I believe have potential considering the population size and the cost of living of the end consumers. I’m also hoping to open more stores especially in Tuguegarao, Cagayan,” she revealed.

To her fellow young entrepreneurs who wish to venture into convenience store franchising, Baron advises them to know more about the business and to just keep pushing forward. “Any individual be it an entrepreneur or a corporate man, as long as they have grit, they are pragmatic, and they give it time, anything they can do, they can do successfully.”

“Always, always do your research before venturing into any business; don’t put all your eggs in one basket and never go into something half-hearted. Be passionate with your business and always give it time. Don’t put your business in the hands of managers or supervisors, an owner’s personal touch always goes a long way.”

7-Eleven, through its local exclusive licensor, Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), has been consistently expanding and leading nationally. As of May 2018, PSC operates a total of 2,370 store networks, with 1,252 franchise-owned and 1,118 corporate-owned stores.

It offers suitable partners two ways to benefit from a proven system: Regular New Store Franchise (open a new 7-Eleven store), and Property Conversion (convert an established business or properties into a 7-Eleven franchise).

For more details on 7-Eleven’s franchise opportunity offerings, call (02) 726-9968, 0920-9508651, 0917-8711686, email franchising@7-eleven.com.ph or visit www. 7-eleven.com.ph.