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Got big problems with high interest from other pawnshops? Why not transfer your pawned items to CB Estrada Pawnshop?
We’ve got the lowest interest rate of 2% per month with a competitive appraisal rate. Visit Alaminos, Bani, Bolinao, Bugallon, Sual and Urbiztondo Branch to avail the lowest interest fit for your needs.
Dahil sa CB Estrada Pawnshop…Ikaw ang mas mahalaga!
A pawnshop business actually functions like a bank only at faster and more accessible manner. It does away with the stringent bank requirements making it the easiest refuge for those in dire need of cash.
But while pawnshops are normally portrayed in a not so palatable image, a Pangasinan-based CB Estrada Pawnshop is trying to correct that negative perception over this business. It offers what could be the industry’s lowest interest rate at 2 percent and treats its customers with decency and understanding away from the usury-kind of work pawnshops are likened to.
Dean Eric Carlo B. Estrada, CB Estrada Pawnshop chief operating officer (COO) and chief finance officer (CFO), makes sure that despite its low interest rate and flexible terms the operation remains profitable and sustainable.
THE COMPANY
The Estrada family has been in the pawnshop business for the past 32 years. Eric belongs to the second generation now running their parent’s original business.
Eric joined the family pawnshop business in 2009 only and been trying to expand the business. In 2014, the business expanded to other areas in Pangasinan through franchising with the help of FRANCORP.
“From there we decided to set ourselves apart from other pawnshop businesses,” adds Eric. CB Estrada added more services like bills payment, micro insurance, money insurance, and loans to teachers against their salaries.
“This is our core business,” says Eric noting that had the company not been doing well it could not have supported the family’s other business ventures.
There are already 22 CB Estrada pawnshop branches now. With its franchising model, Eric aims to hit 500 pawnshops in five years. This means they will be opening 2 branches per month. At least 400 branches will be offered for franchise while 100 branches will remain company-owned or 20 percent of total.
The franchise fee is only R450,000, which is good for five years and renewal for two terms. But the total investment could be between R2.5 million to R3.5 million depending on the size of the branch. A pawnshop can be 20 to 30 square meters in size with a guard and one teller. Ideal location is to be beside an existing pawnshop so pawners can compare the rates and services.
“Once they go to our pawnshop, they will not go to another pawnshop anymore,” says Eric, who finished business administration.
Eric has placed the return on investment at a conservative two and half years although the CB Pawnshop experience taught them it is easier to recoup one’s investment in just within one and a half years. Its pawnshop averages R25,000 a day for at least 5 transactions daily.
CB Estrada has a low operating cost and no pilferage because the system is built in such a way that its operation is fool-proof. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas regulates the pawnshop business but as long as the franchise is still with CB Estrada, all requirements are through CB Estrada making the business hassle-free.
There have been serious inquiries and the line of applicants is quite long, says Eric.
Actually, pawnshop is a great choice as a business start-up. No complications, no special business skill is required. Pawnshop is a recession-proof business that can withstand the volatile economy of our country.
It enjoys fast return-on-investment with relatively low initial capital. Most of all, it has very few inventory to manage unlike other businesses.
Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/a-pawnshop-with-a-social-dimension/#xJSaifuAeqFvyqom.99
Source Link: MANILA BULLETIN
August 01, 2016
(Malaya Business Insight)
Couple Emmanuel and Cherie Estrada turned an adversity into an opportunity after the great 1990 earthquake devastated Pangasinan and most of Northern Luzon.
Already six years into the pawnshop business at the time, Cherie brought down the interest rates on pawning jewelry to 2 percent, lower than the average of 4 to 5 percent, in the aftermath of the quake.
Eric Estrada, chief operating officer of CB Estrada Pawnshop, one of the Estrada couple’s two children, is committed to stick to this low-interest rate for the chain’s growing business.
“What really sets us apart from our competitors is our 2 percent interest rate and competitive appraisal,” said Estrada on the company’s strategy for expansion through franchising.
At 29, Eric just entered his teens when his parents defied norms and brought down the monthly rates but he was old enough to understand that that decision was meant to help their fellow Pangasinenses get access to fast cash by pawning jewelries at minimal cost.
There were stories, according to Eric, that at the time of the earthquake people in his town of Urdaneta saved their jewelries first than any other personal belongings knowing how these could help tide them over the disaster.
Soon, CB Estrada became the go-to place of Pangasineses for pawning as they take advantage of the low interest the pawnshop offers, and beating the veterans in the trade. Soon, the pawnshop spawned other businesses: a mall and a printing shop.
Today, CB Estrada has 22 shops all over Pangasinan. By the end of the year, the chain targets to have 30 stores, covering the entire province.
Eric said the company is now ready to go out of its comfort zone and expand to other areas through franchising.
Eric, who is in charge of this strategic move, believes franchising the chain is also one way of helping other entrepreneurs get into the pawnshop business but do not know, or are just afraid, of how to go about it.
CB Estrada’s value proposition, according to Eric, goes beyond the low interest.
“We keep things simple and focused. We always have a personal touch with our customers. We always text and send letters to our pawners before their items mature and for them to avoid penalties. We even give a longer grace period before their items go for auction,” Eric said.
Unlike the competition which has diversified its offerings to include remittances and bills payment, CB Estrada is limiting its services for now to pawning.
“We have noted that customers who want to pawn their jewelries do not want to queue up and wait. By just focusing on pawning, our shops will have enough funds to service our customers,” Eric said.
Eric believes at 2 percent, franchisees can compete with the giants in the industry.
“Customers usually look out for the lowest interest and the highest appraisal as well as flexible terms, walking into each pawnshop to check their rates and appraisal for comparison,” said Eric.
This is why for future locations, CB Estrada targets to set up in areas already dotted with competitor pawnshops, a deliberate strategy to gain market.
“We are committed to stick to the core business and we know this is potential business we can share to entrepreneurs,” Eric said.
Keeping up the dynamic attitude of his mother, Eric in preparation for the franchise changed the physical look of the pawnshops, taking away the ubiquitous cell-like bars in traditional pawnshops and refurbishing these to look more professional much like a bank.
The fresh look also easily connects with customers and is simple and comfortable. “Our customers are the type who only pawn jewelries that are worth P20,000 or less.
These are the people who would renew the pawn and redeem their jewelries for the sentimental value.
These are pieces they have kept over the years as keepsakes or heirloom, or they have invested by working from abroad or sent by relatives overseas,”Eric said.
Targeting to open two branches per month to reach 500 in five years – 400 franchise and 100 company-owned – CB Estrada requires P450,000 franchise fee for five years, renewable for two terms. The total package ranges from P2.5 million to P3.5 million, exclusive of pawn capital. A franchisee needs P7 million to P8 million in the first year to start the business. The capital will go down in the succeeding years but return on investment is about 2 to 2.5 years.
CB Estrada effectively “lends” its license to operate a pawnshop from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to a franchisee.
Eric said there are lots more opportunities for the pawnshop business which now number 16,000. The population remains underserved.