New year, new CEO
Big news from retail giant Golden ABC last week, the company behind brands Penshoppe, Oxgn, Regatta, Forme, Memo, and Bocu. On Jan. 1, 2025, Bernie Liu, who has led the company for almost 30 years, will step down as CEO. Taking his place is his wife Alice Liu, who has been working at Golden ABC for 25 years and has been its president and COO since March last year. She will serve as president and CEO.
Bernie said, “Alice’s leadership is exactly what Golden ABC needs for the company’s next phase … I know that under her leadership, the company will continue to fulfill our purpose of inspiring greatness—through the work we do, the communities we serve, and the brands we are building—while striving toward our vision.”
Alice said, “I am honored to step into the CEO role and build on the legacy that Bernie has created alongside our founders.”
Next year, Bernie will be focusing on his role as executive chairman of both Golden ABC and its holding company LH Paragon Inc. But his priority remains the same—”ensuring that we continue to work toward and fulfill our vision of building brands for the world.
All about people
“Succession planning is a vital element of good governance at Golden ABC. Although we are a privately-owned company, it is important for us to behave like a publicly-listed company, especially as we aspire to continue growing as a business. In fact, every key senior role in the organization has an identified successor,” Bernie told Lifestyle in an exclusive interview.
When asked what he’d miss about being CEO, he said, “Growing up, my parents would always tell my siblings and me that business is all about people … While I am still actively involved with the company through my role as executive chairman, one thing I will miss most is the frequent operational interactions I had as CEO with the people most vital to our business—our employees, customers, and business partners. I’ve learned so much from our different stakeholders and I will miss those direct and intimate interactions with them.”
Bernie, like his siblings, grew up helping his hardworking parents in their garment manufacturing business in Cebu. In 1986, he proposed the idea of going into retail and creating their own brand—and that’s how Penshoppe was born.
Under his leadership, the Penshoppe group has grown to include more brands. From a single shop, they now have over a thousand stores not just in the Philippines but also abroad.
Over the years, they’ve also had numerous international celebrity endorsers—from Boyzone, Mandy Moore, and One Direction to Zac Efron, Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevigne, Bella and Gigi Hadid. Their most recent ones have been Korean stars Lisa of Blackpink and Chanyeol of EXO.
During their early days, all of this was seemingly impossible. Bernie told Lifestyle, “In the beginning, no one thought that a brand hailing from Cebu could ever make it in Manila, let alone be patronized by mallgoers and department store shoppers. Being able to bring our brand not just to Manila but even to other parts of the globe has been incredibly humbling.”
Bernie said, “Beyond financial success, our business gave us the platform to provide livelihood for our employees and business partners, give back to communities, support charitable causes, and most importantly, elevate Filipino talent and bring it to the global stage—showing the world that the Filipino can.”
Not just a business
Golden ABC is not just a business to Bernie.
“One of the things I am most proud of is how Golden ABC has become more than just a company that designs and sells clothes. It has become an important means to a much greater end. We want to leverage on the platform we have to be able to positively impact and improve the lives of our employees, customers, and society at large. Our brands are a showcase of how world-class and capable Filipino talent is—and where we are today is a testament to the blood, sweat, and tears that our team put in to achieve this.”
Alice intends to continue what Bernie started. “I am excited to lead our team of dynamic talents towards an even brighter future … I am already excited about the innovations we have lined up to bring our brands even closer to our customers.”
In the past years, she has led the group’s efforts in modernizing operations, strengthening e-commerce capabilities, and making sustainability a focus across their organization. Her efforts have led to Golden ABC being recognized as a Great Place To Work, being included in Statista and the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Philippines’ Best Employers, and winning awards like the Pandemic Retail Innovation Award and the Retail Employer Award from the Outstanding Filipino Retailers Awards.
Alice also sits on the board of the Philippine Retailers Association and the Philippine Franchise Association.
Teaching organization
It’s important to Alice that the people at Golden ABC grow as they work. “In the last few years, I’ve really prioritized transforming our team into a learning organization. While some hospitals that train medical interns can be referred to as teaching hospitals, we are a teaching organization. We train our employees to develop different competencies that relate to their jobs.”
They have upskilling sessions and book reviews, and they invite speakers to share their knowledge with their employees. “That exposes us to best practices and allow us to review and reinvent the way we do things. We’ve adopted the Lean Six Sigma program where senior leaders are assigned innovation projects so they can influence the performance of the organization. I want our people to continue growing in their craft and in their field so that they can better themselves and better serve our customers … As a leader, my priority is to serve as a bridge for the next generation of leaders.”
Bernie said, “We have big ambitions for the company and I’m confident that Alice’s leadership will steer us into the future. While our customers can anticipate better brand experiences, better stores, and better products in the coming months, they can be assured that there will be no disruptions, and that we will continue to operate the way we always have, with quality and service that customers can trust.”
