Manila: Filipino-Chinese tycoon Mariano Que, founder of the 72-year-old Mercury Drug Store, died of old age last Friday, his family said in a belated post on Facebook on Saturday. He was 96.
The Que family, known for their well-guarded privacy, did not reveal details such as cause of the patriarch’s death, the hospital where he was confined before he died, place of wake and date of interment.
Born in 1921, Que was only 24 when he persevered with P100 (Dh7) investment and sold medicine in a pushcart in Manila in 1945 when it was severely damaged by World War 11. His integrity for selling real medicine despite the lack of strict regulation just after the war became known.
Now, Mercury has 1,000 branches nationwide, 11,000 employees — the largest in the Philippines, making Mercury’s founder — whose net worth was $934 million in 2014 — one of Philippines’ 50 richest, Forbes said.
Mercury embarked on a 24-hour service in 1965, expanded into convenience store in the 80s, established drive-through sites in 2012, and launched mobile application for medical prescription in 2015, Forbes added.
His daughter Vivian Que Azcona now heads Mercury Drug which has 70 per cent of the medical market.
