For the Esjay Auto Group, its recent successful Car Expo was both a celebration of 50 years of outstanding performance and a propitious beginning for a new chapter in its history.
Amando “Amang” S. San Juan, chair and chief executive officer (CEO), himself expressed the significance of the event in his speech: “Today marks a momentous occasion as we not only celebrate our past. We also usher in a new era in our Group’s history and, as the great Chinese philosopher Confucius once said, ‘Study the past if you would define the future’.”
San Juan (Esjay comes from the first letters of his family name) said the company had valued the lessons and relished past successes. While it was looking towards the future, its feet remained firmly planted on the ground.
That future, he said, was now for his children – Lyne, Arlyne, Leo, and Denis – to shape.
Now in charge of day-to-day operations in the different units of the Esjay Auto Group, the San Juan children appear to have imbibed fully the lessons accumulated during the company’s 50 years of existence. They are well aware and appreciative of how their father transformed himself from a paid employee to a pioneering car dealer, persevering and forging ahead, despite challenges and obstacles.
In her own speech, daughter Lyne Ponferrada, a lawyer and president of Commonwealth (Avenue, Quezon City) operations, acknowledged the exceptional accomplishment of their father. San Juan’s passion to build something great despite his humble beginnings led to a multi-brand dealership with branches stretching from Metro Manila to the northern province of Cagayan, she said.
“He had the guts to take that opportunity (when it arose),” Lyne added.
Leo, president of the Quezon Avenue (Quezon City) operations, is just as proud of his father’s legacy, turning a small dealership, Sunny Motor Sales, into one of the first Hyundai distributors in the country and one of the big car sellers in Quezon City.
The successful dealership helped fund the Commonwealth complex, the first auto dealership in an area that, at the more provincial time, looked than urban.
“He took the chance, he took the risk, and it paid off,” said Denis, president for provincial operations. “He conceptualized what we now know as the one stop-shop.” Denis is referring to how his father expanded his Mobil gasoline station in Baliuag by adding tire vulcanizing and car repair shops and a canteen, in response to his customers’ needs.
The current Esjay portfolio includes established Japanese and Korean brands Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Hyundai and Hyundai Trucks and Buses; and rising Chinese brands Fuso, Foton, Changan, Chery and Jetour.
Not even the Asian financial crisis in 1997 could slow San Juan down as he built the biggest Nissan dealership in Asia. But the derring-do paid off. EAG has won the Dealer of the Year award from Nissan for several years, sometimes earning back-to-back titles.
Lyne said most of the EAG dealerships had also at one time or another won the coveted Dealer of the Year prize.
San Juan’s name had become so well-known and respected in car dealership that, according to Denis, when they were in industry events, people would often ask if they were related to Amang when they read their name tags.
EAG continues to grow the network. It recently found it the right time to put up a bigger Suzuki dealership, Leo said. The bigger dealership had doubled average sales of the Japanese brand, Denis said.
The company would continue investing in dealerships and facilities, Leo said, especially now that the car industry was bouncing back from the adverse effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that virtually shut down the entire country.
Although the company was able to make adjustments, like going online to conduct business, said Lyne, brother Leo noted that COVID-19 was hard for all industries.
With recovery moving closer to 80-90 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Leo said EAG would resume its plans to continue to grow and open more dealerships. “(We are) looking to expand particularly in eastern Metro Manila – Antipolo, Marikina, etc. We haven’t really gone into that market.”
In particular, he felt there was so much potential and opportunities in the area for the China brands he oversaw. Markets would also be open for established brands that were offering new and exciting products.
But the expansion plans would all hew closely to how San Juan built and grew the business. Lyne said she was very proud of the legacy and reputation her parents had built through the years, although continuing what their parents started would be a challenge. “We really have big shoes to fill,” Denis said.
Leo said, while the family business would continue to grow with the industry, it would remain true to their father’s vision. “(EAG) is not just about money, business – it’s about people. We want to serve our customers, provide them good service and good products.”
For the company, he explained, their relationship with the customer did not end after the buyer drove off out of the showroom. “We will continue to build world-class dealerships with world-class products and services and serve the community.”
Success in business, Leo added, also meant EAG could also provide good benefits for existing and future employees, who their father referred to as future family members. “Our goal is to provide meaningful and worthwhile employment for our people,” Leo said.
Denis added that they would also continue to value their relationships with business partners, like banks, insurance companies and financing institutions.
As EAG starts a new chapter in its history, Lyne said, “Our goal is to continue the legacy of our father, (to preserve) the core values as family and company that brought EAG to where it is now.”
Lyne said his father not only had passion to overcome the obstacles and build EAG, he also had compassion for customers, business partners and especially employees.
San Juan has expressed his confidence that the new team taking over the helm of Esjay “is unbeatable and will propel our Group to greater heights, success and prosperity in the years ahead.”
