Lucio Co: Wealth, Business Empire, and Life Outside Work

Lucio Co pivoted from the oil and gas development business onto the retail shopping industry and has since become one of the biggest earners in the Philippines. Facing the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Co established Puregold, eventually growing it to more than 500 branches nationwide.

His successful chain of hypermarkets and supermarkets led Co to other ventures, including the liquor distribution, energy, and real estate sectors. Co and his family also have stakes in various gambling and hospitality businesses. Co and his wife, Susan, entered the top 10 of the Philippines' Richest Billionaires back in 2020, according to Forbes.

The chairman of Cosco Capital, Inc., Puregold, and S&R Membership Shopping, Co is best known as a visionary in the retail shopping space. Here's everything we know about Lucio Co.

Net worth (Lucio and Susan Co): $2.3 billion (P127.2 billion)

Age: 70

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In His Youth

Born in 1953, Lucio Co was said to have learned the ropes around the retail industry from his time growing up in Sto. Cristo, Divisoria, Manila. His family owned a modest Atlantic Glassware store in the district, where he spent hours at a time soaking up as much as he could from customers in the store. 

The young Lucio would grow up to become an entrepreneur. It was only a matter of time before he started building his wealth in the oil exploration business.

Co's Business Empire

After operating in the oil industry, Co switched industries amid the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. From there, Puregold was born. It started as a hypermarket shopping branch in Mandaluyong City that provided the public with affordable shopping choices in the aftermath of a peso-sunken economy.

After 13 years, Puregold went public in 2011, selling at P12.50 per share. Around the same time of its IPO, Co's company acquired Kareila Management Corp., which owns S&R Membership Shopping (named after Price Club founders Sol and Robert Price) and Parco. It was a move that consolidated Puregold's supermarket businesses. Puregold also partnered with Japanese convenience store chain Lawson under the name PG Lawson Inc. Now, Puregold owns 70 percent of the venture.

By 2020, Puregold's stock price surged to P48.25 apiece, almost four times its IPO price. In terms of its expansion, Puregold eventually grew to more than 229 hypermarkets, 102 supermarkets, 28 extra stores, 19 minimarts, 18 S&R warehouse clubs, and 38 S&R Quick Service Restaurants by 2019.

Co has headed more than 31 different companies in his 40-year run as a businessman. He also serves as chairman of listed Cosco Capital, an investment holding firm that was originally incorporated in 1988.

The company, formerly Alcorn Gold Resources Corporation, used to engage mainly in the exploration and development of oil and gas before moving on to the commerce, liquor and wine, and real estate industries. His portfolio includes but is not limited to Union Energy Corp., Puregold Realty Leasing & Management, Pg Holdings, Inc., Ellimac Prime Holdings, Inc., Entenso Equities, Inc., Puregold Price Club, Inc., and Canaria Holdings Corp.

Co's Impact on Philippine Economy and Society

Since 2011, one of Co's goals has been to generate more income-earning opportunities by creating jobs through his retail empire. Today, Puregold employs more than 12,000 workers and plans to increase that number as its operations grow.

Co and his wife established the Tindahan ni Aling Puring, a program meant to empower sari-sari store owners. Here, vendors are offered a customized, holistic membership program that helps small business owners increase their potential net earnings. From competitive pricing and exclusive promotions across various retail categories, the program has become instrumental in uplifting Puregold's primary customer base. It launched in 2004 and has more than 600,000 members as of 2022.

The billionaire is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Adamson University and Luis Co Chi Kiat Foundation, Inc. Co has been a proponent of scholarships in various schools. He once made a P50-million donation through the Puregold Price Club, Inc. and Luis Co Chi Kiat Foundation to The One La Salle Scholarship Endowment Fund.

Outside the Boardroom

Co remains one of the more media-shy billionaires in the Philippines. He's kept much of his own life and background under wraps.

He and his wife have formed one of the rare couple tycoons in the country. At Puregold Price Club, Inc., for instance, he sits as chairman while his wife sits as vice chairman. Co also sits as chairman of Cosco Capital, Inc. and Da Vinci Capital Holdings, Inc., as director of the Philippine Bank of Communications. Susan, on the other hand, is vice chairman and treasurer of Cosco Capital, Inc. and director of the Philippine Bank of Communications.

Their children have also held various positions in the Co companies. Co's eldest son, Ferdinand Vincent Co, and eldest daughter, Pamela Justine Co, are both directors of the Puregold Price Club, Inc. Six members of the family, including younger daughter Camille Clarisse Co and Katrina Marie Co, are top individual stockholders of Puregold Price Club. They have more than 450 million shares between them.