From Pawn to King: Strategically Growing a Family Business Into an Empire, According to Jean Henri Lhuillier of PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies

Whether it's transforming Cebuana Lhuillier into a microfinancing empire or making waves in various industries, learn successful strategies from the man behind it all: Jean Henri Lhuillier.

Lhuillier is a name that has long been established in the Philippine business landscape, as the family has become foremost known for Cebuana Lhuillier—the biggest microfinancing institution in the Philippines with over 3,000 branches, nationwide. Known foremost for its financial services that span pawning, remittance, microinsurance, micro-savings, and business-business microloan solutions, the company has been supporting Filipinos financially since its establishment in 1988.

Beyond its impact in microfinancing, however, the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies (PJLGC) owns businesses in diverse industries, including hospitality (Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel and Bacau Bay Resort Coron), jewelry (Just Jewels), tech (Networld Capital Ventures, Inc.), banking (Cebuana Lhuillier Bank), and insurance (Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Brokers, Inc.), and more—thus solidifying its presence in the Philippines.

Leading the charge is Jean Henri Lhuillier—a man with just as many accolades and businesses tied to his name. Known among business circles as the President and CEO of the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies, he is a man who dons many hats, as he too is the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of San Marino to the Philippines, the President of Unified Tennis Philippines (UTP) and Amateur Softball Association of the  Philippines (ASAPHIL), and an angel investor in many businesses.

In this exclusive interview with The Business Manual, he reveals the story behind PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies, the success secrets in growing the family business into the empire that it is today, and what he has learned in his journey as an entrepreneur.

Learning the Ropes

With its foundation deeply rooted in its humble beginnings as a pawnshop called Agencia Cebuana, pawnbroking was the bread and butter of the Lhuillier family.

This meant that at an early age, Jean Henri was exposed to its operations. "When I was a lot younger, my dad used to always take me around to the pawnshops," he begins. "He actually moved to Manila from Cebu in 1970 [and] he came here as an entrepreneur to build a business as well."

"I used to go around the pawnshops as early as 8 to 9 years old, and my dad would also take me around to the jewelry stores and let me know that these are the ways that people have their items appraised, these are the ways that people sell, these are the ways we accept items in our outlets, these are the possible channels of revenue that you can have in the pawnshop business," he adds.

In fact, if Jean Henri was given a choice to either work in the family business or start his own and make a name for himself, he would, undeniably, choose the former. After all, it just felt right for Jean Henri to work for the family. "I really felt like I had to do it, but I enjoyed it. I understood it. And being the eldest as well, I felt that I had to come back and work for the family."

But more than that, he was impressed with what his father—a man ahead of his time—had done with the business. "Him coming in, understanding what needed to be done, and growing [the National Capital Region of the Philippines] NCR as the next space for the pawnshops back in the 70s was, again, something that he started. And I was very impressed with how my dad was able to grow and build the business.”

Professionalizing the Family Business

Establishing structure and building a strong foundation—these were just some of the important factors that Jean Henri wanted to instill in the company since one of the downsides of a family business includes the blurring boundaries of business and familial ties. This meant professionalizing the company, which he worked on with the blessing of his parents.

"We can’t have too many relatives in this company," he says simply. "We gotta hire the right people and build the right system, so that’s one thing that I pressed on: making sure that we got the right people for the right part of the organization. And that really grew things from there."

The next step was to unify the many brands under the company's wing. "We had about maybe 15 pawnshop brands, so I basically said 'I think we gotta consolidate and have one brand.' We did a study and Cebuana Lhuillier came up, so we stuck to that brand, built the right organization around it, and as the years progressed, added more products and services with the brand," he shares.

With a strong name in place, Jean Henri was able to grow the business by establishing a strong brand presence. "I really felt that I wanted the brand to be known, so we spent a lot in branding and a lot of that was via sports. So we had a basketball team then—being our number one sport here in the country—and we did get a lot of mileage having our basketball teams."

Honing an Entrepreneurial Spirit

While anyone can be a business owner, being an entrepreneur—someone who pioneers a new product or service—is another playing field altogether. After all, business owners have the safety net of building a business of what currently exists, while entrepreneurs take on bigger risks.

And this was exactly the case for Jean Henri—having come from a long line of family members in service and of entrepreneurs, too. "My dad is an entrepreneur himself. He’s done a lot of things for Cebuana, but he’s also done a lot of things on his own," Jean Henri explains. "And he’s always pressed that upon me when I was young that you gotta think like an entrepreneur, think how you can start a business. That’s been my mindset."

"That being said, being an entrepreneur and then being a CEO really fits hand-in-hand. You really understand how to run a business, how to communicate with people, and how to build the right organization," he continues. "Those are all the skill sets that, fortunately, as CEO, I have been able to use as an entrepreneur—and also as an entrepreneur, use as a CEO."

In fact, this mindset has helped him diversify the industries that form the portfolio of PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies—from hospitality to restaurants, insurance, tech, and even education, among many, many others. "I was one of the founders of a school called Enderun, which is out there today as a hospitality school," he reveals. "So in terms of that entrepreneurial spirit, I’m fortunate that my dad has pressed it down upon me, and it’s something that I also enjoy."

His driving force? "As they say, you never stop learning, and that mindset has made me also learn about other industries—other possible channels for revenue."

Strategically Diversifying Into Different Industries

When it comes to expanding the business, some business people tend to look within their comfort zone—be it the same industry or line of work. But Jean Henri set his sights on the many possibilities and industries that he could get into.

Not without having a plan, of course. After all, understanding the playing field is key, and he knows that for a fact. "In the many things you take a look at, first, [make sure] that the business model makes sense," the CEO advises. "And there had been a lot of business models, too, obviously."

In his case, he studied the call center industry—an opportunity that not many have tapped back in the day. "When we took a look at [the call center industry] almost two and a half decades ago, we took a look at the skill sets that Filipinos had," he explains. "We’re intelligent, we spoke English, and we understood the North American market. So we really said that this is a good space to get into. It’s a space that we understand. It’s a space that we can excel in. That’s one way of taking a look at that industry."

"When you take a look at the other industries today, like the insurance business, we focus on the microinsurance business. This is something that I did for the group. But when I first started it, it was really not common in the Philippines to focus on insurance for the C, D, E market," he continues. "So again, market size. When you take a look at it, that's 100+ million people not understanding something that is needed for one to be able to be financially inclusive. That’s another industry that had a huge scope, a huge growth."

This set the wheels in motion for Cebuana Lhuillier, as it catered its services to this massive demographic.

Thus, for aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to diversify their portfolios, he cites the importance of finding one's purpose. "As an entrepreneur, one must really say, 'Do I wanna do this? Do I wanna spend time doing this?' And the next step there is you gotta make sure you have the right team," Jean Henri says.

"You know, an advice I tell entrepreneurs today [is] when you take a look at a business, it’s important to take a look at a business—not only from your lens but also have somebody else on the right field and the left field," he adds. "When I say the right field, that could be you. The left field could be somebody in the backend. You have to make sure that you both are in sync because many businesses fail [that way]. Great front end, [but the] backend is not ready. Or in running a business, [having a] great CEO mindset, [but] no operational mindset or no tech mindset.

Simply put, covering all bases and building a good foundation is key.

The Importance of Good Time Management and Having Good People

With diverse roles that encompass his day-to-day duties as the President and CEO of PJLI—which include being the Director and Chairman of the Board of Global Restaurant Concepts and Director of Enderun Colleges, Inc., DFNN Inc., Falcor Heli Solutions Philippines, Inc., Hatchasia, Inc., Intelligent Wave Philippines, and Next Ideas, Inc.—Jean Henri has his hands full, which means that having good time management is essential.

This, he admits, is a work in progress—even for him. "Time management is something I’m still working on," he confesses. "But time management is really a question of making sure you spend the right time during the day [with the] right goal in mind. During the course of the day, a lot of things happen. Make sure that you have your goals set for the day."

For the veteran businessman, however, it is crucial to first have the right strategy and the right people. "Running an enterprise or a group [means that] you can’t run things alone. That being said, there’s a lot of time that I do spend on making sure that the companies that are being run are under the right people," he opines.

"I really believe in working with the right people, the right team, and that’s taken time to grow and evolve," he continues. "I’d like to say I have a very solid team today in PJLI, and they are actually very, very good people. It’s always good to hire smarter people than you. That’s the way good companies are run."