BUSINESS BITS

A toy story
MILLETTE ENRIQUEZ

Clients, suppliers, and knowledge transfer – these were the three fundamental things that Ramil Flores learned from the stuffed toy company that he had worked with for 15 years until it folded up in 2004.

Starting out as a sewer, Flores had climbed his way to supervisor, marketing assistant, and accounting clerk until he became the company’s finance coordinator. He knew the stuffed toy-making business like the back of his hand, so when his employers decided to close shop, he lost no time in inviting a co-worker to set up a stuffed toy-making shop of their own in San ablo City in Laguna.

To get RFM Toys Trading started, Flores hired 12 other co-workers, pooled P30,000 in initial working capital, and organized a working area in his house. They got materials like plush cloth and fiber filling on credit from suppliers in Divisoria, Manila, then used three sewing machines and a cutting table to service the clients of their previous employers. Flores handled marketing and finance, while his partner took charge of the cutters, sewers, assemblers, finishers, fillers, and sealers to produce the initial orders worth P400,000.

Flores says it wasn’t difficult filling the orders of clients like Bear Hugs (which has stores in in SM malls) and Bear Cuddler (which has stores in Robinson’s malls) because he had been dealing with them before. His problem was insufficient operating in capital, for his new customers were hesitant to make down payments and his collection of receivables wasn’t fast enough.

Looking for other sources of financing, Flores applied for membership with the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, a non-government organization based in San Pablo City that provides loans to microentrepreneurs. In May 2004, he was able to obtain a P12,000 loan from CARD and used it to purchase additional materials.

“Kesa mangutang sa 5-6, mabuti na ang sa CARD. At least may service pang nakukuha kami [Because of their service, we thought it was better to borrow from CARD instead of from the 5-6 lenders],” Flores explains.

Because his stuffed toy-making business prospered, Flores was able to pay the first loan in six months. He later borrowed another P24,000 which he repaid in four months, now he is on the fourth cycle with a loan of P100,000, which covers the weekly payroll of his workers and other operating expenses.

Today RFM Toys Trading makes 20 types of bears in various sizes as well as pillows that incorporate bears and dogs in their design. Peak seasons are usually from September to January. As to their plans for the immediate future, Flores and his partners are hoping to be able to set up a retail store of their own.