I had John Lu Koa of The French Baker as the speaker in my strategy class this morning. We talked about his being the CEO, and of his firm’s origins and strategies. He carries his company’s positioning statement in his Treo smartphone (and it’s a long positioning statement!).

John Lu told my students about how, once upon a time, the Ayala group did not want his brand in Glorietta mall because The French Baker was so heavily associated with the SM malls. They asked him to make a new brand instead (a deal that many companies with an SM presence have reluctantly accepted), but John Lu refused.

John Lu had the last laugh though — the Landmark mall, which is directly attached to Glorietta, embraced him, and now his “forbidden” brand is situated at the very entrance of the Glorietta mall.

He talked in detail about environmental scanning, which includes his frequent trips abroad to check out the latest baking technologies, as well as of assessing the market, his suppliers, and his people. He’s especially proud of the very strong bonds that he has with his suppliers. He claims to already know what will happen in the next ten years, technology-wise, and is basing his plans on these forecasts. Forecasts which include how malls will become a disincentive for the people in the near future (they would rather stay home than slug it out with the crowds).

The one problem that he sees looming in the horizon: the imminent entry of flour from China, which is of really high quality and yet can be at least 30 percent cheaper than locally milled flour. While he would want to be faithful to local suppliers, business is business, and this may end up destroying the local flour milling industry.

John Lu is currently active with the Go Negosyo entrepreneurship advocacy group. He is also pushing for the election of Ed Angara, who he explained was the underappreciated thinktank behind so many of our country’s economic reforms, dating back to the Ramos era.