Batang UP is up there in competitive garment business
By Myrna Rodriguez-Co
Inquirer
Inquirer.net, Philippines
Last updated 09:03pm (Mla time) 12/16/2014
BATANG UP, he calls himself. He grew up inside the University of the Philippines campus, worked in UP, met his wife, Flor in UP, got married in UP, and is now managing his own flourishing garment business based in UP.
Mike Esteves was a grade schooler when he began dabbling in T-shirt printing as an assistant in his Kuya Reynaldo’s silk-screen printing business. He learned the trade fast because he was an artist at heart who saw T-shirts as a drawing paper or canvas of sorts.
At 15, he began experimenting with his own designs. He was also his kuya’s all around part-time errand and delivery boy, gamely boarding ikot jeepneys around the UP campus with bundles of T-shirts on his shoulders.
Even when he went to work at the UP Transportation Training Center as a draftsman, Mike still had half his mind on T-shirt design and printing.
In 1989, Mike resigned from his job to pursue his passion. He began his own home-based T-shirt printing business, starting with meager capital and only the most basic equipment — squeegees of various sizes and an exposure table.
In the way of most couples in business, it was decided Flor would keep on working at the UP Business Research Center while Mike tried his luck in the yet uncertain venture. If the business failed, they had Flor’s stable employment to fall back on.
Today, 18 years after they made the crucial decision, Mike’s Maroon Garments is now a full-fledged garment producer that has integrated its operations to include sewing, design, printing, wholesaling and retailing.
In 1993, they finally acquired an outlet at the UP Shopping Center known as Maroons Boutique and Novelty Shop. By then, too, the business has become stable enough to enable Flor to resign her job and handle the company’s accounting and finance requirements.
Their property in Quezon City now combines three distinct units: a garment factory, a printing shop, and the family residence.
The business employs 10-12 workers at a time, has seven sewing machines, and a cutting machine. At the printing department, designing has been computerized although the printing itself still employs the traditional manual process using squeegee sets and exposure tables.
Capacity has gone up to 500 to 1,000 T-shirts a day in the printing unit, depending on the complexity of the design. At the sewing department, up to 300 pieces of assorted garments can be produced daily.
The market has also grown to include universities and schools around the Diliman area as well as various student organizations and private businesses needing promotional giveaways.
Last year, SM began placing orders of T-shirts with Pinoy designs for Kultura, the department store chain’s Filipiniana boutique.
This year, Maroon Garments became the first licensed producer and seller of UP T-shirts, jackets, shorts, pants and other paraphernalia including mugs, caps, stickers, bags, umbrellas and gift bags. The company projected a minimum output of P2.6 million worth of goods a year.
There are advantages to a UP license, says Mike. All colleges and units of the university are now Maroon Garments’ official market. The Institute for Small-Scale Industries has offered free counseling to improve its work processes. The administration helps promote and market its products. With the upcoming centennial celebration next year, Mike expects a peak year for sales.
There are disadvantages, too — as unauthorized manufacturing and selling of UP paraphernalia have gone on. Because most of them are informal and do not pay license fees and taxes, competitors can afford to offer lower prices.
Flor laments that they have been treated unfairly by the BIR in its recent city mapping operations. “At first, we were complimented for being good taxpayers, which we are. Later, they questioned a technicality — that we failed to note down customers’ addresses in the official receipts.†Their business is being penalized for this oversight.
Despite setbacks, Maroon Garments remains unfazed. It has a competitive edge after all. With its integrated operations, Mike and Flor can control quality, price, and delivery schedules.
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