Cebu's Butch Carungay wins Asia Jewelry Design Gold - Planters ...

A good partnershipBoth husband and wife admit that it isAmada who has a mind for business and theknack for selling jewelry. Victor’s talent is indesigning the Ocampo’s stores. He workedas an architectural engineer in Guam beforethey got married. Selling jewelry is inAmada’s blood. Her father Santiago LagmanOcampo was a traveling jewelry salesman.He opened the first Ocampo’s store beforeWorld War II. From their base in Guagua,Pampanga, Santiago sent his 10 childrento set up stores in different parts of Luzon:Angeles, San Fernando (Pampanga), Tarlac,Manila, Baguio, etc. Amada was in charge ofthe store in San Fernando, Pampanga. Whenshe marriedVictor in 1957, they opened theOcampo’s pawnshop and jewelry store inOlongapo. It was to be the first of manybusiness ventures that they would developtogether. Business was good in Olongapowhich then hosted the Subic Naval Base ofthe United States. “During the Vietnam war,people made good on their payments.Before, the people in the province did notwant their appliance to be repossessed.Nahihiya sila.” Their daughter Vittsi relatesthat her parents even made a business ofbringing Kodak films from customers inOlangapo for processing and printing inManila. They also repaired watches. “Wegot into businesses where we could makemoney,” Victor says. “Suppliers wrote to us,offering their products. We would get theproducts if we think we could sell them. Wemade our decisions on gut feel.”A matter of faithTheir business in Olongapo andPampanga suffered when Mt Pinatubovolcano erupted in 1991 and the Americanswithdrew their military bases from thecountry soon after that. Lahar from MtPinatubo also covered several towns inZambales, Pampanga and Tarlac. “Louie(one of their four sons) started thinking ofOcampo childrenThere were nocredit cards thenbut people madegood on theirpayments.the American soldiers went to Olongapofor their R&R,” says Victor. “They would sellor pawn their jewerry.”Risk takersThe Gutierrezes are naturalentrepreneurs. They later branched out intoother businesses such as selling appliancesand an LPG dealership. “We offeredinstallment payment for appliances,” Amadasays. “There were no credit cards then butmoving the business elsewhere,” recallsVictor. “The young ones thought of doingbusiness outside Zambales and Pampanga.”Amada says many of the businesses had toclose down. “We were lucky that we did nothave to pay rent.” They owned the buildingthat housed their store. “One day, I stood infront of the seven-storey Ocampo buildingin Olongapo. What should I do with thisbuilding? Let’s stay put come what may,”Victor recounts. “We decided to stay even16 / sme.com.ph