Grow Your Business

There is nothing like wearing your school color on your sleeve, two decades after graduation, especially when that color reminds you of the sleepless nights doing your thesis requirement and of terror professors who wanted nothing less than perfection.

Blued originally offered a range of casual wear for men, from shirts to vests and jackets. It has since expanded its products to include clothing for women. It has also expanded its clientele to people even in their 40s.

Tan, however, is not the original owner of Blued—he started out as a supplier to the brand when it entered the mainstream retail industry in the early 1990s. “But I am not someone strange to the brand or someone from out of the blue who appeared to take over,” says Tan. Believing in the potential of Blued, Tan acquired shares in the company until he became its sole owner and president in the early 1990s.

Even when his relationship with the brand was just as a supplier, Tan has established one thing: partnerships are not a walk in the park and trust is necessary from the onset of business. “You should learn how to transact business based on trust. It also teaches you how to study people—if these people are actually trustworthy,” Tan said.

Blued re-opened its flagship store at the Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City, and its Alabang Town Center store in late 2010. Blued Clothing is rapidly expanding in areas outside Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao. “Within the year, we are opening in General Santos City and in the Isabela province. A lot of our customers, who were students, have already graduated and are already based in the provinces,” says Tan. “But what made Blued Clothing survive 19 years in the retail industry is its affordability and quality.”

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