Business Strategies for Growth: 6 Leadership Lessons from Wilcon Depot CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan and COO Rosemarie Bosch-Ong

Wilcon Depot’s Lorraine Belo-Cincochan and Rosemarie Bosch-Ong share business lessons on building a launchpad for future growth.

The story of Wilcon Depot has become inseparable from that of its founder, William Belo, who began with a 60-square meter hardware store in 1977 and pioneered the “big box” retail construction or depot concept in the Philippines. In recent years, however, Wilcon owes its success to two extraordinary leaders: CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan and COO Rosemarie Bosch-Ong. Together, they have led Wilcon Depot through a period of remarkable expansion and growth. Since the company’s IPO in 2017, Wilcon stores have multiplied from 35 to more than a hundred to date. At the same time, they successfully navigated the company through the pandemic years, emerging stronger than ever, and embarked on a journey of digital transformation to ensure Wilcon Depot’s future success.

The Business Manual spoke to Lorraine Belo-Cincochan and Rosemarie Bosch-Ong, who have recently exceeded their target to expand to 100 stores by 2025. Together, they shared a story that is marked by visionary leadership, innovation, and service. Here are six lessons we learned from Lorraine and Rosemarie’s journey in steering Wilcon Depot to success.

1. Convenience Drives Growth

Lesson: Always prioritize customer convenience by identifying and addressing pain points.

If there were a secret to Wilcon Depot’s success, it is that convenience drives their growth–except this fact is hardly a secret. Lorraine and Rosemarie talk about the role convenience plays in building a Wilcon presence in every major city and township across the country with eagerness; they wear it on their sleeve.

Lorraine emphasizes that their expansion was fueled by recognizing gaps in the market: the need for an organized, air-conditioned, and easily accessible one-stop-shop for home improvement needs. By strategically locating stores near emerging communities and retail hubs, Wilcon ensures that quality products are easily within reach.

“The vision of our founder [William Belo] really is to provide convenience to the market,” Lorraine says. “By bringing in those products, you don't need to go abroad anymore. Right in the comfort of your home, you can have the products that you need.”

This quest for convenience drives everything Wilcon does. Rosemarie explains, “When you build a house, it's really very complicated, very complex. So it's really about providing that excellent customer experience for the customer's journey to be more memorable. And they will always choose Wilcon when they look for anything for their home.”

Behind Filipinos’ need for the products and experience that Wilcon provides is a construction boom. According to research by GlobalData, the Philippine construction industry–which includes housing, infrastructure and other projects–is expected to grow at a rate of more than 7% between 2024 and 2028. With this market trend, Wilcon's rapid expansion and dedication to its customers has served them well as the company recently achieved the milestone of 100 stores last January. Since then, it has not stopped opening new stores.

2. Build Sustainable Systems for Scalability

Lesson: Sustainable growth relies on robust systems, not just capital.

After working for Wilcon Depot since 2000, Lorraine Belo-Cincochan became the company’s CEO in 2016, with William Belo taking the role of Chairman Emeritus. And soon after Lorraine took the reins, the company had its IPO, which fueled Wilcon’s rapid expansion.

Lorraine is quick to point out that Wilcon's growth was made possible by more than just the influx of capital. She highlights the importance of building sustainable systems—from governance to IT infrastructure—to support growth. Going public through an IPO not only provided funding but also instilled "positive pressure" to uphold best practices and transparency.

“We had to evolve our systems,” she says. “But it's not just the systems or the processes, also our people, which is really the heart of our business. It's what our chairman always says, our most valuable assets, it's really our people.”

3. Invest in People

Lesson: Empower people through continuous learning and leadership development.

Both Lorraine and Rosemarie believe that people are Wilcon’s most valuable asset. Lorraine, with her background in creative writing and passion for teaching, championed the development of comprehensive training programs. From cashiering to technical plumbing, Wilcon equips employees with the skills to deliver excellent customer service through programs that Lorraine and Rosemarie refer to as Wilcon’s internal “university.” This commitment to growth has transformed entry-level staff into managers—a testament to Wilcon’s "promote from within" culture.

When asked what her proudest achievements are, Lorraine looks past the financial statements and the growing number of stores. Instead, she focuses on what she has achieved for the people in her company. She says, “I think one of the biggest achievements of Wilcon is that our employees will share how Wilcon has changed their lives.”

She continues, “I really work to level up our training, learning and development team, because I really wanted our people to grow with us.”

Testament to this people-centric management philosophy is how Wilcon weathered the pandemic years.

As lockdowns and supply chain disruptions negatively affected industries everywhere, including retail and construction, Lorraine proudly shares that Wilcon didn’t retrench or retreat. In fact, with the pandemic causing a 30% increase in home improvement projects globally, Wilcon rode through the disruptions and emerged with more opportunities.

Rosemarie adds that people are central to the mission of Wilcon. She explains how this is a virtuous cycle, saying, “We live up to our mission and vision of really providing every Filipino with the things that they need. Our mission is that we help every Filipino improve, refine their homes in a comfortable and sustainable way. As we grow, we employ more people, right? So we also help the economy of whatever city we go into.”