Small businessman vies for gold
By Naomi Gunasekara in Kurunegala
Despite the humidity and dry weather, Kurunegala was buzzing. Vendors had
made an early start. And so had Richard Trading Co (Pvt) Ltd at 33, Dr.
Silva Mawatha, Kurunegala, the tallest building in town. The seven-storeyed
"Richard Building," with separate floors for school and office stationery,
textbooks, toys and sports equipment had the name "Richard" in blue, across
its side walls.
The success of Richard Trading Co (Pvt) Ltd is inextricably interwoven
with hard work, dedication, determination, sacrifice and perseverance,
says Caesar Richard Jayatissa, the man who transformed his father's picture
framing business into a stationery export business and the current CEO
of the company.
"We offer the cheapest rates for exercise books and toys in Sri Lanka.
If you buy exercise books for Rs. 2,000 from Colombo, you can buy the same
number of books for less than Rs. 1,000 here. My policy is to give quality
goods to the customer at the lowest possible price. In December we had
record sales with people coming from Colombo, Galle, Trincomalee and Padhaviya
to buy exercise books," a beaming Jayatissa said.
The company has undergone many changes over the years; "We became the
first agent of the National Paper Corporation in the Wayamba Province in
1966. In 1981 the business suffered when my father fell sick and I had
to leave school (at 14) to look after the business and support my family,"
said Jayatissa. He was the first runner-up of the inaugural Manhunt contest
held in Colombo in 1990. He also bagged five mini-titles including Mr.
Personality and Mr. Physique at this contest.
"That was a great opportunity for me. I began to develop self-confidence.
When you live in a remote place like Kurunegala you feel nervous to even
talk to people from Colombo. The contest was held at the Trans Asia Hotel
(then Ramada Renaissance) and it changed my life-style completely," said
Jayatissa nostalgically.
After the contest, Jayatissa had considered starting a business of his
own. But his father had vehemently opposed his ambition to manufacture
books. "My father told me, 'I started with little money and developed my
business with great difficulty. I don't want you to ruin everything overnight'.
"We were very poor when I was young. My father had a bicycle and he used
to keep me on the bar and bring me to the shop. From there I walked to
school to save the ten cents given for bus fare," recalled Jayatissa.
"My father didn't want to see the business ruined. But the day after
I told him about my ambition, he woke me up at four in the morning, took
me to Colombo and bought me a paper cutter with his meagre savings. He
said he was proud of me. Unfortunately he passed away before I had the
opportunity to start my business venture with the paper-cutter," Jayatissa
said sadly.
Inexperience
Having installed the paper-cutter Jayatissa barely managed to recover costs
due to lack of experience and knowledge. "I didn't know how a factory was
operated or how to manufacture books. For a start I imported paper, stapled
them together and sold them. Gradually, I learnt how to do things. It was
very difficult. Imagine venturing into a field you know nothing about and
trying to manage staff."
Learning through his mistakes Jayatissa had made history in 1996 by
being the first Sri Lankan Company to export stationery. Another breakthrough
for him had been the Walt Disney licence, which was granted to him by the
then licencee – Cargills Ltd. Today he manufactures over 64 varieties of
Disney books including Lion King, Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Pocahontas,
Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Aladdin, Snow
White and Peter Pan for the local market.
"I consult my children whenever I have a new design in mind. They are
the best judges. They talk to their friends in school and tell me their
likes and dislikes. We once used the picture of the bad guy in Lion King
with the rest and what a fuss they made," said Jayatissa who hopes his
three little daughters will continue to develop the business when they
grow up.
Jayatissa has won a number of awards at the Entrepreneur of the Year
contest for the Western Province under various categories. However, this
year has been his most successful. He was awarded the silver medal at the
"Entrepreneur of the Year 2000" contest in the national category. "We were
placed sixth in the whole of Sri Lanka and my aim is to reach the top someday,"
said Jayatissa ambitiously.
Indian market
Manufacturing over 600-800 varieties of stationery and exporting some varieties
to Sweden, Britain and Singapore, Jayatissa finds it difficult to keep
pace with the rapid changes in the global market today. "We stopped exports
a few months ago because India has become a very powerful competitor. Formerly,
although the Indian prices were lower, their quality was poor. So our exports
had a good market. But with the economy opening up in India, they now use
imported machinery and produce quality stationery. We're hoping to re-enter
the market very soon with better quality stationery," Jayatissa said.
Richard Trading Co (Pvt) Ltd is the largest buyer of TNPL from India,
according to Jayatissa. His imports come from India, China, Indonesia and
some European countries. He is also the sole agent for Century printing
paper in Sri Lanka. Operating with three quality-based production lines
– low, medium and high quality - Jayatissa has a staff of about 75 in one
showroom and over 90 workers on one production line.
Among his products are complete sets of stationery consisting of exercise
books, note books, short hand books, refill pads, drawing books and sketch
pads.
Avid reader
Jayatissa has been trained in Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands and thus
has a clear perception of market fluctuations. He appreciates the need
for utilising modern technology and adapting to new business theories.
"I read a lot and learn," he said, while glancing at some of the books
piled on his table.
Books covering a variety of subjects like management, commerce, the
human anatomy, quotations, encyclopedias, classic cars and the Guinness
book of world records were on his table.
"This is a very good book," he said, while picking Jeffrey Kraman's
The Welsh Way from the pile. Ken Blanchchard's The Heart of a Leader and
numerous books on numerology and a series on Negotiating Skills were also
on his table.
"I didn't know anything about business when I started so I had to do
a lot of reading to keep pace with the others. Whenever I got stuck at
a meeting I used numerology as an escape route," explained Jayatissa on
a somewhat jovial note before drifting down memory lane again.
His father, D. D. Jayatissa was a police officer in the 1950s and had
resigned before the 1956 riots. "He was a brave man. He never wilted under
pressure from criminal elements. But when the police got corrupt he resigned
rather than indulge in irregular activities," Jayatissa said proudly.
During the riots the Jayatissa family had lived in Kandy and subsequently
moved to Kurunegala. "The town was deserted. It was in ruins. Most of the
shop-owners sold whatever was left in their businesses and left the city.
We didn't have much money but my father somehow managed to raise Rs. 2,000,
a lot of money at that time, and bought this shop," said Jayatissa.
A framed brown and white picture of Jayatissa's father was hung on the
wall behind his chair. To his right was a brown cardboard box full of silver
awards, while to his left was a wall cupboard full of business files. "I
didn't want to move my office to the new showroom. This is where my father
started. I prefer to stay here because I belong here."
Humility
Having worked for his father in his small picture framing shop after school
hours, Jayatissa had developed a liking for the business. "I swept this
place and spent most of my evenings helping my father. So it is important
that I stay here and look after the place. I don't feel ashamed to attend
to my customers or sweep the place even now," said Jayatissa, who, like
his senior staff members, wore a purple shirt provided by the company.
"This is the Japanese system. They use one colour for uniforms but I use
two in my showrooms to differentiate between the senior and junior staff."
Eloquent, amiable and humble, Jayatissa said he is often mistaken as
a worker. "People who come from Colombo and other areas don't know who
I am. Some of them ask me to load bags into the boot of their cars and
I comply with pleasure. I feel that I am on par with my employees because
I started with them. They supported me right throughout. They are my greatest
assets."
A firm believer that staff is the key to success, Jayatissa recalled
how he had never treated his staff like workers even at the initial stages
of his business. "In the early '80s I used to travel to Colombo in a lorry
with a driver to bring the stocks. We went in the evening, parked the lorry
near the Galle Face green and slept there. I didn't think it was right
to sleep in a resthouse while the driver slept in the lorry. Even now I
have no desire to buy a luxurious vehicle because I don't feel like it.
I'd rather help some of my poor employees."
Philanthropist
Turning towards a girl dressed in a purple blouse and black skirt, he said,
"This girl has been working for me for about 18 years and last week she
told me that she found it difficult to wash her clothes because of a spine
injury. I got her a washing machine much to her surprise. I know what it
is like to be poor. So I help a lot of people whenever I can," he said
while pulling out a file containing personal correspondence.
The file contained letters seeking his help. Reading some of them he
said, "Most of these are written by people who have been jailed for minor
offences and who cannot get out because they don't have money to pay fines.
I have helped most of them and have even provided them with employment
in my factory. They are doing well now."
Jayatissa had donated over Rs. 25,000 worth of exercise books in December
to children of parents in jail. "I intend implementing this programme and
help the poor children to study. My education as a child was messed up
because of poverty. I have compensated for the lost years by doing crash
courses whenever I went abroad. Now that I have the means my children can
study without difficulty. I don't want any child to drop out of school
because their parents are poor," said Jayatissa, who had been taught everything
from picture framing to selling coconuts on the pavement by his father.
A successful businessman today, Jayatissa wants to become the Entrepreneur
of the Year within the next couple of years. Having started business in
a modest way and having achieved so much within a short span of ten years
through sheer perseverance and hard work, Jayatissa believes that he would
be able to start afresh even if he should lose everything he now owns.
"I had unloaded truck loads of brick and cement to build our showroom.
I am not ashamed to reveal this. Saving money was what mattered. Even today,
if I should lose everything I would never be ashamed of starting afresh
in a small way because my father trained me to succeed from scratch."
Richard Trading Company is dealing in stationery but with Caesar Richard
Jayatissa at the helm the firm will not remain stationary. In next to no
time the company will zoom to the top! |
