NATIONAL BOOKSTORE
Our Vision
We will be a globally competitive Filipino company delivering excellent customer experiences
through its profitable retail and learning centers and brands.
Our Mission
We commit to:
Our Customers
• Provide the highest standards of customer service
Our Products
• Offer a wide range of relevant and quality products
Our People
• Create programs for the development and advancement of our highly productive employees
Shareholders/ Partners
• Develop mutually beneficial relationships for the welfare and growth of our company,
partners and shareholders
Our Community
• Undertake community projects that aim to bring knowledge and learning within reach
75 Years of Endless Discoveries
In its 75 years of success, National Book Store has remained close to the hearts of millions of
Filipinos across generations. No matter what point they are in their lives, they will always have a
home in National Book Store – for readers, artists, students, professionals, and whole families.
National Book Store remains a constant, nurturing the passions and inspiring the growth of
every Filipino.
Through the hard work and powerful leadership of Socorro Cancio-Ramos, the late Jose Ramos,
and their family, what was once a small stall in Escolta persevered and prospered amidst
adversity. Despite their store having been burned to the ground during the Japanese
occupation and later ravaged by a typhoon, the Ramoses persisted. They rebuilt their store
from the ground up, and in doing so, they took it to heights they once thought were
impossible.
Their journey is an inspiration for Filipinos everywhere, and a reminder of the humble
beginnings of one of the country's most loved institutions.
An Inspiring Entrepreneur
As National Book Store's founder and chairman, Mrs. Socorro Ramos's entrepreneurial spirit
and passion has earned recognition across the country and even from abroad. Such was in 2005
when Ernst & Young bestowed the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines award to
her. This was given in recognition of her embodiment of entrepreneurial spirit, financial
performance, strategic direction, community/global impact, innovation, and personal
integrity/influence. Winning the award is a testament to Mrs. Ramos's dedication to and
passion for her life's purpose. It was a defining moment in National Book Store's history that
will surely fire the flames for future generations to carry on the company's legacy.
A New Experience
Over the years, National Book Store's innovative and visionary spirit inspired exciting changes
to benefit their customers. In the 1990s, the company logo was refreshed to reflect its new
identity, featuring a modernized script complemented by a bolder shade of red.
In 2016, a new in-store experience was created through a collaboration with a French design
firm. The refreshed layout offer focused on modernity, efficiency, and style. New shelves,
display tables, reading lounges, and bars - all of these changes were made to create an even
more customer-friendly atmosphere in every branch.
An Enduring Institution
Over 75 years of focused energy has brought National Book Store to where it is now: the
pinnacle of the specialty retail industry in the Philippines. Even greater, the National Book Store
family takes pride in its role as an institution that supports education and enhances lives by
providing the best and widest selection of educational, professional, and social communication
products.
The values that took Mr. and Mrs. Ramos through adversity - hard work, shrewd business skills,
and social responsibility - remain the driving force for the whole Ramos family and their over
3,000 employees across over 200 branches. Keeping these values in mind and close to our
hearts, National Book Store will undoubtedly remain ahead of the curve even in the coming
years.
Early history
The history of National Book Store can be traced back to the 1930s.[1] Before the Japanese
occupation of the Philippines during World War II, José Ramos and Socorro Cáncio-Ramos,
rented a small-corner space of a Haberdashery situated at the foot of Escolta Bridge in Santa
Cruz, Manila. With a starting capital of ₱211 (equivalent to ₱15,047 in 2015), the Ramoses set
up their first retail bookstore selling GI novels, text books and supplies. During World War II, the
store shifted to selling sold candies, soap, and slippers due to stringent book censorship. The
store experienced success but was burned down during the 1945 Battle of Manila, rebuilt again
and reverted to selling textbooks and stationery, the opening of the rebuilt National Book Store
at the corner of Soler Street and Avenida Rizal, coincided with the first academic schoolyear
after the war. In 1948, the store was destroyed by a Typhoon Gene but a new two storey
building with a mezzanine was built to host National Book Store.
National Book Store began selling greeting cards in the 1950s depicting Philippine subjects to
showcase local culture and traditions. The book store also launched a publishing program with
international publishers such as McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hal, Lippincott, Addison-Wesley. In 1955,
the Ramoses were able to acquire a lot owned by the Guerrero family, where they erected the
nine-storey Albercer Building in 1963 which was named after Alfredo, Benjamin, and Cecilia,
where a National Book Store was hosted.
[
National Book Store accumulated enough capital after some several years to acquire rights to
reprint foreign brand greeting cards for the Philippine market. The book store had rights to
reprint cards by Gibson for a few years. In 1973, outbid a more established competitor for a
Philippine franchise of the greeting card brand, Hallmark.[2]
Expansion and recent history
The Ramoses children proposed expanding the scope of national bookstore, and a branch
along Recto Avenue was opened, an area often frequented by students. In the 1970s, branches
were opened in shopping malls in Makati and Cubao, Quezon City.[3] For the next decades since
the opening of the Recto branch, the book store grew with shopping mall owners approaching
the Ramoses to set up a store inside their properties. The National Bookstore became one of
the top 100 Philippine corporations in 1988, registering profits of $1 million on gross revenues
of $34.7 million. The book store chain also became one of the Top 500 of the list by Retail Asia-
Pacific, ranking 308th in 2004.[2]
In 2015, National Book store captures the majority of the Philippine book market having a share
amounting to 80 percent, and operates around 127 branches across the Philippines. It also
operates Metrobooks, which opened in Hong Kong in 2007, a subsidiary based in the former
British crown colony.[2]
With the pending entry of National Book Store into the Philippine Stock Exchange through the
renaming of Vulcan Industrial & Mining Corp., another Ramos-owned company, into National
Book Store Retail Corp. they would now also venture into wholesale, publishing, printing,
manufacturing, and distribution.[4]
In 2017. The National Book Store celebrated its 75th year, which commemorates its
establishment since 1942.
Type Private
Industry Retail
Founded Manila, Philippines (1930s)
Founder Socorro Cancio-Ramos
José Ramos
Headquarters Mandaluyong, Philippines
Key people Socorro Cancio-Ramos (Chairman)
Products Books
office supplies
school supplies
Office furniture
Number of employees 2,500 (2015[1])
Subsidiaries Anvil Publishing
Metrobooks (Hong Kong)
Powerbooks
Website www.nationalbookstore.com
