Clients can expect high quality and exceptional service in products and customer care.
By Ma. Carmela S. Glorioso
From the exterior vista, the all-blue facade of Gold Fortune Textile (GFT) Center looks like just another warehouse of fabrics and sewing supplies – a common sight on the national road of Sitio Malabon, Highway 2000 in Taytay, Rizal.
However, the moment one enters GFT Center Textile and Accessories’ imposing glass door, there’s a sudden shift in the idea of what to expect inside.
GFT Center is a cut above the rest of textile suppliers’ establishments in this part of Calabarzon region. For those not familiar, Taytay is also known as the Garments Capital of the Philippines.
It’s a common fact that upon entering a new place, the interior design is the first thing you observe. Inside the GFT showroom, every nook and cranny speaks details of the products and available services it offers. Clients also have easy access to brochures, swatches of a wide range of fabrics, and sample materials of sewing supplies and equipment.
Customer service representatives are ready to assist clients at any time of the day. They offer a cup of coffee or purified water to customers while they wait for their orders and purchases. A large sofa in one corner of the showroom can make every client feel relaxed and comfortable first before making purchases especially when they come from places miles away from Taytay. Its friendly staff members are ready to advise clients with their requirements.
GFT has an extensive range of fabrics to choose from and a huge assortment of sample fabrics that are available for purchase. It is well-stocked with classic and special fabrics of different colors and designs.
All fabrics are guaranteed to be of high quality and they are shipped from China. According to Nellyn Cruza of the Sales and Marketing department, GFT built a warehouse in China for the fabrics to undergo quality control procedures before shipping them to the Philippines.
“We also have our own packaging and labeling marks, as well as barcoding for inventory. With these, our products have become more presentable and identifiable because of the GFT logo in every roll of fabric,” says Cruza. “We also have an array of swatches on display in our showroom.”
GFT currently has over a hundred kinds of fabrics. Customer service representative Micaella Gofredo declares that the best-selling fabrics include Cotton Spandex, Challis, Chambray, Polydex, Qiana, Honeycomb Lacoste, CVC/ Cotton Jersey, Cotton Linen, Peachtwill, Cotton Woven, Nylon Knitted, Embossed Fabric, Bark Crepe and Cotton Waffle.
GFT aims to be the leading one-stop shop textile provider. Thus, it offers a convenient process of customizing fabric designs according to every client’s design preference. Nellyn shares that the most requested designs are for children’s apparel.
Clients can purchase a minimum of one roll of fabric with prices ranging from P120 to P320 per kilo. Each roll of the classic ones is estimated to have 22 to 28 kilos while the special types weigh from 14 to 45 kilos.
“We sell fabric by the kilo per roll. The only retail option is one kilogram as a sample for customers who want to try the fabric first for their apparel projects. Bulk orders, on the other hand, range from 10 to a hundred rolls. We give discounts if they purchase in bulk,” explains Gofredo.
Expansion and innovation
GFT head for regional marketing Teodorico Olaguer narrates that one of his tasks is to develop corporate accounts outside of Taytay. He worked on submitting proposals to garment industries in the northern part of the country, as well as in the south. At present, GFT is one of the big suppliers of raw materials in the country.
“We were able to acquire accounts that supply fabrics in malls. We also do have a distributor in Cebu that’s why the construction of our showroom in Cebu is ongoing.
To make tasks easier, human resource manager Alexis Medina stresses the importance of going digital in the office. Therefore, changes in the system had to be done. Alexis scrapped the use of manual filing of employee records and pushed for the digital method.
“We have many branches so records should be accessible in just one click. Before, everything was manual and the system was not that high-tech yet. But now, we already have a tracker that in just one click, the data is readily available. This helps to finish the work faster, especially now that we have 158 employees including the bosses.
Warehouse supervisor Gian Carlo Ison and purchasing officer Kim Mendoza are in favor of GFT’s use of modern technology for inventory. Kim monitors the shipment of fabrics and according to him, suppliers from China would deliver thousands of rolls of fabrics loaded in container vans.
“Through our system of using bar code and QR code, counting deliveries is less of a pressure now. I just have to use a device to scan the codes and then everything will be entered on our system,” he states. “If there are returns, they can also be easily replaced with new ones as long as the clients present the receipt and the item.”
Loyalty card, internship program
Since Enrico Sy, the son of GFT proprietors Eduardo (who serves as chairman) and Helen Sy (who is vice chairman), held the position as the company’s chief executive officer, major changes and developments took place. First, the construction of a new showroom that displays all of GFT products and offerings. He then created a team that helped in the execution of his plans for the company’s increase in the number of sales and clients. A loyalty program was introduced to clients where they can receive rewards and points.
GFT also has an internship program for students and they offer them jobs according to their skills.
Human resource assistant Queen Stephanie Garcia shares that their boss, Enrico, helps every employee to grow. He personally looks into the matter if there are matters that need to be addressed. He is the type of boss who mingles with his employees.
GFT accessories, sewing equipment
Apart from being known as a fabric supplier, GFT also offers a wide range of sewing supplies namely threads, buttons, size label, zippers, cords, garter, bells, patches, etc.
Clients can also purchase sewing equipment under the brand GFT Machinery.
GFT Textile and Accessories has branches in La Suerte Textile Market called GFT 1; GFT 8, Lucky 8 Rizal Technopark, Brgy. San Juan, Taytay, Rizal; and GFT Baltao on Ortigas Avenue Ext., Taytay, Rizal. Its social media platforms GFT PH, GFT Home on Facebook and TikTok, and website goldfortunetextile.com serve as easy access for people to shop for the products.
