Scaling with purpose: How Mr.DIY built the ultimate sales force in the Philippines
By Roselle Marisol Belleza Andaya, CEO, Mr.DIY Philippines
In Retail, growth is often measured in numbers – How many stores are open, how many customers walk through the doors, or how much money is transferred each quarter. But for us at Mr.Diy, growth carries a deeper meaning. It’s about how many lives we can touch, how many communities we can uplift, and how many opportunities we can create along the way.
When we started our journey in the Philippines, our commitment was clear: to make everyday life easier, happier and more fulfilling for Filipino families. Today, that mission remains in more than 800 mr.Diy stores throughout the country, serving communities from city centers to high cities. We open an average of 20 stores every month – a pace that reflects not only our operational discipline but also our belief that our accessibility is important and accessibility is essential to improving everyday life.
But behind every new Mr.DIY store is a matter of livelihood. Each branch creates a new job for local residents – cashiers, store associates, and stock workers who now have the opportunity to work closer to home. For many, this means more time with family, greater financial stability, and pride in contributing to their community.
“We don’t just open stores; We open doors – to employment, inclusion, and empowerment for entire communities in the Philippines.”
Our vision of inclusion reaches beyond space and livelihood. In late 2024, we launched a shop internship for exceptional students, a pilot program that provides neurodiverse individuals on the Autism Spectrum with real-world experience. Starting with a partnership with Cantent Learning Haus in Parañaque and amazing minds in Marikina, the first step helps professionals gain meaningful experience in customer service, visual merchandising, and independence, and independence at work. The program follows the Internship-to-to-action recruitment method, which is designed gradually to transition to long-term employment opportunities within mr.Diy, ensuring continuous growth and inclusion beyond training.
As a woman in sales, I’ve always believed that empowerment isn’t something you proclaim – it’s something you show. From the beginning, Mr.Diy’s Mar.Diy managers, department heads, and team leaders have always been women who put compassion, intelligence, and tenacity into their roles.
Empowerment, however, comes with accountability. When you empower people, you foster a culture of ownership. Empowered people gain the confidence and authority to make decisions, while accountability ensures those actions are guided by shared goals and objectives. Empowerment without accountability threatens freedom without direction; Accountability without breathing forms of frustration and fear. But where these two reside, you build a culture of trust and performance – where people feel competent and responsive, honest and responsible.
We treat these people – the first philosophy of how we operate as a business. Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our use of renewable energy in our stores, our community action programs (AOK), and partnerships that support education, disaster relief, and livelihood initiatives. All efforts are focused on a shared goal: to serve not only our customers but also the communities that host us.
Leadership, to me, is not about maximizing growth – it’s about cultivating: in people, in values and in how we create shared progress. Marketing, at its heart, is about communication. Every shelf we fill and every family we serve demonstrates our belief that true business success is measured by the good it brings to others.
As we continue to expand, Mr.DIY remains committed to scaling with a purpose – empowering communities, promoting accountability, and helping every Filipino household live simply, happily, and wholeheartedly. We are committed to designing, guiding our ESG enthusiasts and continuous learning programs that reinforce our responsibility to our operations, our people, our customers, our communities and the environment. Because when we grow with heart, we don’t just build a product to sell; We are building an organization that lifts lives, one community at a time.
SpotLight is a business-sponsored section that allows advertisers to grow their brand and connect with a business audience by publishing their stories on the Businessworld website. For more information, email lest@bworldonline.com.
Join us on Viber for more updates and subscribe to business topics and get exclusive content through www.bworld-.com.
