How It All Began: The Lhuillier Legacy
“The steadfast growth, commitment to quality and trustworthy service enables M Lhuillier to continuously uphold the brand promise of being the “Tulay ng PaMLyang Pilipino.”
This legacy was ignited by the establishment of the very first chain of pawnshops back in 1935 locally referred to as “agencias” all throughout the country.
In addition to this, Henry Lhuillier, an Honorary French Consul in the 1970s, together with his wife, Angelita Escano Jones had made a name for themselves in jewelry manufacturing, money lending and candy manufacturing and distribution.
His son, Michel Jones Lhuillier, together with his wife, Amparito Llamas Lhuillier, then founded the M Lhuillier Group of Companies and opened the first M Lhuillier pawn and jewelry shop in the 1980s in what is considered the country’s oldest thoroughfare, Colon Street in Cebu City.
With this, Michel Lhuillier envisioned expanding further the company within the next 30 years by establishing over 1,000 M Lhuillier branches all over the Philippines.
Since then, M Lhuillier has earned its reputation as the largest non-bank financial services network in the Philippines, with over 3,000 branches nationwide.
Today, the next generation of kin, Michael Lhuillier, son of Michel Jones Lhuillier, is now actively managing the company as president and CEO.
Now, M Lhuillier branches are found widespread in all types of areas across the Philippines from bustling commercial areas to relatively low-key communities, and far-flung barangays.
M Lhuillier has now established an extensive presence abroad through partnerships with a string of reputable partners in almost a hundred countries worldwide.
A Jewel of a Find: M Lhuillier Group of Companies
In 1954, after WWII, the humble beginnings of being a jeweler and pawn broker business, M Lhuillier Group of Companies – more popularly known as M Lhuillier, is now one of the Philippines’ largest non-bank financial institutions specializing in services like quick cash loans, domestic and international money transfer, insurances, logistics, bills payment and micro-insurance.
M Lhuillier Group of Companies and the brand it represents goes beyond financial services as they have operations in various sectors including: property development and construction, farming and food manufacturing, bottled water, wines and gourmet products distribution.
In 2017, the company added another growing business venture with the opening of Cebu Safari and Adventure Park in Carmen, Cebu now known as the largest zoological park in the Philippines.
Venturing into different businesses is the true “jewel of a find” for M Lhuillier Group of Companies as this provides more opportunities to cater to millions of patrons residing in the Philippines or abroad and continue on in displaying trustworthy and world-class customer service with a proudly Filipino touch.
Recognitions and Achievements: The Greatest Form of Motivator For M Lhuillier
As a remittance agent, M Lhuillier has received numerous awards from partners for being the most efficient and most compliant agent in the Philippines.
A prestigious award and achievement to take note of is that M Lhuillier is recognized as the most compliant agent by Western Union after their annual compliance review.
With the hard work that the M Lhuillier team puts into doing their jobs and training, they undergo assessment to evaluate the knowledge and adherence of the Front Line Associates to controls and policies such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Anti-Fraud Programs.
M Lhuillier strongly commits to keeping a high standard of compliance in their operations and to boosting their delivery of stellar customer experiences to all their patrons.
For M Lhuillier, having recognition and awards is more than just a status symbol for public relations, marketing or branding.
It is a motivator and a reminder for the company to continue on in upholding the mission and vision their brand represents, and their patrons entrust them to deliver every single time.
A Social Responsibility that M Lhuillier Takes Pride In
M Lhuillier believes in giving back to the patrons and clients that have entrusted them with the service they provide.
Donating blood to those in need is one way out of the many means they seem fit to show their gratitude and humbling appreciation to the public.
“For outstanding, invaluable support extended to the Philippine Red Cross for more than 10 years accounting to more than 1,000 units of blood supplied to the vulnerable segment of our society.”
A non-profit entity of M Lhuillier, under the name ML Cares Foundation, has been supporting multiple charitable activities since it was established. It was created as a way of giving back to the community and touching the lives of people that the company cares about. The foundation launched programs such as the Livelihood Program, Communal Garden Projects, Adopt a School Program, Tree-planting Programs, and Community Health Programs.
M Lhuillier has built a strong foundation that is unbreakable as “Tulay ng PaMLyang Pilipino '' that will continue to bridge and connect more and more families and patrons with their exemplary financial services and social responsibilities for many more generations to come.