The CEO Magazine Asia - February 2018

theceomagazine.com | 83

AN LCC SNAPSHOT

LCC was founded in 1945 as Liberty

Bazaar, a dry goods store in Tabaco

province of Albay, Bicol Region,

Philippines. A second store opened

shortly after. Both stores burned to

the ground in a fire in 1977.

The first LCC branch opened in Legazpi

City in 1981. Since then, it has expanded

to different cities and municipalities in the

Bicol Region.

LCC Group currently owns 74 outlets in

different business formats, ranging from

malls to department stores, supermarkets,

convenience stores and food outlets. The

company was incorporated in order to

pursue expansion plans.

Ayala Malls, in partnership with LCC,

opened its first shopping centre in the

Bicol Region in 2016.

The other challenge we face is the

change in the generational mindset of the

labour market. The millennial generation,

especially those on the younger end, seem to

be more impatient. They tend to not stay

long in one workplace or one project, and

they always look forward to having new

work. They’re not willing to put in the

hard yards to see the results. They want

the rewards straightaway, and look for

instant gratification.

How is that affecting your business, and

what sort of measures is LCC putting

in place to address that problem?

Currently, turnover rates have become

a bit higher. To remedy this, we have

to enforce training programs explaining to

the staff the benefits of improving their

mindset, and that instant gratification may

not be possible all the time.

What new projects or initiatives are

you putting in place to further

business growth?

We continue to look for communities we

can serve and open additional markets and

outlets to cater to new customers, thereby

also giving them the opportunity to shop

in a modern environment with a wide

variety of quality goods and merchandise at

reasonable prices, as well as a delightful

shopping experience comparable to big malls

and establishments in urban areas.

What is next on the horizon for LCC?

What are you looking to achieve in the

medium term?

Our goal is to be able to open our

hundredth store by 2020, and hopefully

many more. I also hope to be a publicly

listed company some day.

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