BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOR years, many have pondered on the secret to the success of local Chinese-owned businesses, especially as the nation has seen an increasing number of supermarkets and restaurants being opened.
This business phenomenon is not unique to the Federation, nor is it new for the region. In fact, in almost every country one can find a Chinese-owned shop and another within a stone’s throw, so much so that the business management skills and healthy entrepreneurial spirit of Chinese businesspersons have grown to be the envy of local businesses in St. Kitts-Nevis.
But, is it because of their nationality? Is there truly any correlation between succeeding in business and having familial ties to East Asia?
SKNVibes explored the business life of the Chinese and uncovered that the true secret to the success of Chinese businesses is hard work and sacrifice – assets that are available to any entrepreneur irrespective of race or nationality.
One of the most outstanding of all Chinese entrepreneurial success stories in the nation is that of Kevin Zhang. He has spent two decades in the Caribbean doing business after first being introduced to the market in 1990 in St. Maarten.
The young entrepreneur explained that at the beginning of the business his family members pooled all of their resources together to get it off the ground. Eventually he travelled to Nevis in 1997 and then to St. Kitts in 2001, after which Zhang applied for citizenship and was eventually granted it in 2004.
Zhang explained that starting a business in the Federation was never smooth sailing, but his will to succeed has continually exceeded the forces against him.
“Every time in business we must try and learn new things. We have to go through the same procedure like every local. You only see me in front, but you don’t see me behind.
“When you start a business, you have to lose money sometimes. Every business needs to make sure that they can cover their bills and expenses. We have losses in some businesses and the other one will cover them. It’s a balance,” he explained.
Prior experience in the supermarket and restaurant business allowed Zhang to hit the road running and after the success of his popular restaurant King’s Palace restaurant, business opportunities finally began to blossom for him in the Federation.
King’s Air Conditioning was established within a limited amount of time and then the King’s Pavilion supermarket set Zhang at an entrepreneurial high. Today, his businesses are continuing to grow and he is venturing into another new area, Chong’s Building Materials.
Recently in St. Kitts-Nevis, Zhang and similar Chinese, and even Indian, entrepreneurs have fallen subject to criticism that their businesses are growing too quickly and are taking business from local companies.
“We are not blooming; we are still going step-by-step,” Zhang stated. “People say we are growing too fast, but nobody knows what we owe. We have challenges, like people don’t want to work and people shoplift a lot. I hired about eight locals and I hired a lot of family. I work hard; I work an 18-hour day. We all work hard.”
A variety of goods, reasonable prices and quality customer service, according to Zhang, have kept his business afloat through challenging times, adding that there is little or no need to “fight to make our prices lower than the others”.
“When you have a good service and good prices, the customers will keep coming. But, if we continue to reduce our price, we will not make a profit and pay our expenses. The good thing for me is that the business is set. In the slow time, we fix air conditioning units, and when the supermarket picks up we all get to the floor,” he said.
Painter and craftsman Roy Delaney, a regular customer of Chinese-owned supermarkets, told SKNVibes that there is no doubt Chinese businesspersons work hard and that, coupled with their business savvy, is ensuring they remain successful.
“I find they are successful at everything they do. They sell their products cheaper, they have a wide variety of things, things that I never even see in St. Kitts before, and they have convenient opening hours. The China man is doing a good thing, although some people feel like they are taking away our jobs. The locals don’t want to invest the kind of money the China man is putting in,” Delaney said.
Sales clerk Sharon Eddie said Chinese supermarkets offer a “convenient” shopping experience and added that it is certainly something that locals can do as well.
“It is a very good thing that we have more supermarkets. But, locals like to sit back and let opportunities pass them by and when people come in and start to do some good business, then they get upset, but they have the same opportunities,” she told this media house.
Government officials also had praise for the contribution of Chinese business persons to the local private sector.
Ministry of Finance Economist Gary Thomas said the secret to the Chinese business success is not only the hard work that they put in, but also their “culture of entrepreneurship”. He said they go through the same procedure of setting up a business as any national would.
“I think it is important for people to understand that everyone goes through the same procedures to set up a business or any other initiative. With respect to some of the different immigrant groups that we have here and the success we see them having, particularly the Chinese and Indians and Jamaicans, I think it’s their culture. They have a very entrepreneurial culture and that is one of the things that we have to do here,” Thomas noted.
The economic expert said locals should seek to collaborate more in the forms of cooperatives, investment groups and venture capital groups to be able to compete in a rigorous market. Thomas also encouraged locals to access the St. Kitts-Nevis Development Bank, the National Entrepreneurial Development Division (NEDD) and the St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (SKIPA) to guide and assist their small and medium businesses.
Though much can be said about how quickly Chinese entrepreneurs have come to the Federation and set up shop, their exemplary work ethic and personal sacrifices must be given due acknowledgement as the true secrets their business success.
