A Brief Note of History

Fely’s Jewelry and Pawnshop is named after its founder, Fulgencia “Fely” Chin-Oculam. Fely was a young wife and mother who moved to Tagbilaran from Lila where she lived with her husband’s family. With her young children and an infant named Norris, a few items of clothing, a rolled mat, two pillows, and very little cash, this young mother embarked on a risky and ambitious move to better herself and her growing family: establish a jewelry store in the province’ capital.

Fely was born to honest, hardworking merchants in Tubod, Lanao del Norte. She not only inherited her parents’ entrepreneurial genes but was also exposed at a young age to the rigors of earning a living. At the tender age of sixteen, when she went to Cebu to pursue her studies at the University of San Carlos, she was tasked by her mother to purchase small quantities of jewelry, which was then sold in their general merchandise store back home. Her parents, burdened with four children in college, never sent more money than absolutely necessary. To augment her allowance, she bought jewelry items to sell to her classmates and friends on installment.

To make additional money, she sewed her classmates’ and neighbors’ dresses and trimmed their hair, skills she acquired by enrolling in a vocational school during the summer. Shortly after college, in 1959, she married a Boholano, who hails from Lila, Bohol. Settling down at her husband’s place, she continued to sell jewelry in Lila and nearby towns, accepting installment payments.

Fely’s Jewelry Store at Noli Me Tangere Street opened in 1964 with humble beginnings: jewelry on consignment was displayed on shoe box lids and arranged neatly in second-hand display shelves. Weeks would pass without any merchandise being sold.
With severely limited resources, the young family survived on corn porridge (lugaw) and anchovies (bulinaw). This would go on for years; the hardship, however, was no match for the founder’s drive. While finances were scarce, and day-to-day survival was a struggle, Fely was blessed with eight bright and beautiful children, who were all raised literally in the jewelry store. A crib behind the counter was never unoccupied. All her children grew up helping in the struggling, but growing, business. Within the next thirty years, Fely’s diversified into a goldsmith, grocery store, trucking, real estate, and pawnshop business. FeIy instilled in the hearts of her children the values of hard work, morality, compassion, honest business conducted with integrity, and most importantly, faith in God.

Of all of Fely’s children who live the lessons learned from the Fely’s Jewelry Store “School of Life”, it is her oldest son, Norris, who carries on the family trade. At seventeen years old, just like his mother, this young adventurer left home to start a Fely’s of his own in Mindanao. With the help of his late grandfather, Santiago Chin, Norris opened his own pawnshop.

The young visionary conceived an explicit, precise plan to establish a chain of pawnshops. He was steadfast in running a pawnshop unlike any other with the values his mother imbued onto him: Fely’s must put people first. It had to be a business with conscience. With its philosophy, Norris balances the drive for growth and profit with a responsibility to the environment and  accountable partnership with the community.

Fely’s is not the oldest among pawnbrokers. It is not the largest, but it is determined to be the best. Under Norris’ leadership, this business leads the industry in transparency with truth-in-lending practices, utmost consideration of its clients’ interests, the continuing education of its employees, and involvement in the community. To date, the business has expanded to a current total of over twenty (20) branches in both the Islands of Bohol and Mindanao where its presence is strongly felt at the cities of Ozamiz, Cagayan de Oro, Pagadian and Oroquieta. Its Branches in the towns of the province of Lanao del Norte, and Molave in Zamboanga del Sur were also highly regarded due to its trademark way of pawnbroking based on the MaTAPAT, MakaTAO at MapagKATIWALAAN principle coupled with its corporate slogan of being a “RESPONSIBLE COMMUNITY PARTNER”. Since the inception of the first Fely’s in Ozamiz City in 1981, all branches continuously partner with community professionals, educators, public officials, and students to give back to the community and sponsor humanitarian and civic projects in the cities they serve. Fely’s has touched more than sixty thousand lives through various outreach programs, including medical, dental, “Operation tuli”, and “Operation Kontra-Bitok,” to name a few. Because of the company’s focus on its social responsibilities to the community, Norris became the first recipient of the award “Pawnbroker of the Year” in 2010 by the Chamber of Pawnbrokers of the Philippines, which is composed of 15,000 strong members—no simple feat for a small company like Fely’s.

Fely’s continues to grow and adapt to the ever-changing business climate. Its leadership welcomes all growing pains, as half a century of experience has proven that challenges endow capability and strength to the company. Whatever changes come its way, the company’s mission remain constant: Fely’s will PUT PEOPLE FIRST, will stay “A BUSINESS WITH CONSCIENCE,” and act as a “RESPONSIBLE COMMUNITY PARTNER.”

Company Philosophy

To establish itself as an institution is the mission that Fely’s Jewelry and Pawnshop is vigorously pursuing.  The company adheres to the following aims: