Mariano Que (14 August 1921 – 14 April 2017) was a Chinese Filipino businessman best known for being the founder of the pharmacy chain Mercury Drug.
Background
Born in 1921,[2] Que worked as an employee at Farmacia Central, a major pharmacy owned by Jose Tee Han Kee along Calle Rosario (now Quintin Paredes Street) in Manila, prior to the onset of World War II.[3] He was orphaned during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.[4]
After the war ended in 1945, Que bought ₱100-worth of Sulfathiazole pills. He sold these drugs in single doses and using his savings decided to buy an assortment of medicine which he later peddled through a pushcart.[5][6] He would eventually found Mercury Drug in Bambang on March 1, 1945.[4] Mercury Drug would open its second store in 1963.[4] In 1972, Mercury would acquire the Tropical Hut fast-food and supermarket chain.[7][8]
Mercury expanded outside Metro Manila with the acquisition of Medical Center Drug Corporation, a medical supplies and equipment manufacturer, in 1976.[4]
Que's daughter Vivian Azcona, would take over Mercury and become company president, following Que's retirement.[5]
