By Ainsley Walters, Staff Reporter
John Azar, managing director of KingAlarm Systems. - Michael Sloley /Freelance Photographer
AFTER TWO years in the business of providing electronic security, KingAlarm Systems has firmly established itself in the field.
John Azar, managing director of the Caledonia Avenue company in Kingston, said since making electronic and response security its core business in July 2000, KingAlarm has expanded its client base to more than 2500, equalling and even surpassing many other established and traditional players in the field.
Among the first batch of small businesses to receive the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica's Job Creation Award, KingAlarm was started three years ago by Azar, who studied criminology at the Florida International University and gained valuable experience working locally with Hawkeye Security Company for four years.
KingAlarm now has 74 employees comprising 20 technicians, 14 response operators and 40 men in the field assigned to response bases in and around the Corporate Area.
"Money wasn't the driving factor behind opening KingAlarm," said Azar, whose family operates L.P. Azar Limited, a major player in the haberdashery field. "KingAlarm was born out of my love for providing the service, protection and peace of mind to regular, everyday Jamaicans."
Azar's strategy of targeting middle-income households, working closely with citizens associations and Neighbourhood Watch groups, opened up a new market alongside businesses and the traditional players' more affluent residential clientele.
"Electronic security used to be a luxury for a chosen few," Azar pointed out. "What we've managed to do is keep the price down, making it affordable for middle-income Jamaicans. You no longer have to be a millionaire to have a gate-opener or panic alarm system.
"What was happening before we entered the market was that richer persons already had systems in place but these had to be bought from the traditional companies for approximately $20,000-$30,000 three years ago. What we did and continue to do is retain ownership of the system, install it for free and charge between $2,000 to $3,000 per month."
KingAlarm clients who subscribe to its panic and intrusion system benefit big-time from a package deal which includes 24-hour roadside assistance, ambulance response in the event of a medical emergency and an escort service for late-night travellers.
"In many instances, we've forced down the market rate. For others to remain competitive they have to drop their prices," Azar said. "That's the benefit of a free-market economy.
"Competition is healthy as long as it is fair," he added. "We've been aggressive in our marketing but there's a line you don't cross."
KingAlarm made national news earlier this year when a response team successfully foiled a robbery at telecommunication company Digicel's Stony Hill branch, fatally shooting one of the hold-up men and recovering two firearms.
"We've had no casualties to date," Azar pointed out. "That's due in part to training and God's grace."
Describing his company's relationship with the police as a good one, the managing director said security companies work hand-in-hand with the national security force and its response teams are by no means trying to replace the police.
Azar said more people are turning away from security which features a static guard with gun or hound.
"If I put in a system it won't go to sleep nor will it take a walk with some pretty girl coming across the road. On the other hand, some people just don't want a guard at their premises."
Neighbourhoods with electronic security backed up by response teams, mostly those guys in black armed to the teeth zipping around town in cars or motorcycles, tend to have less incidents of break-in, Azar noted.
"The criminal element always goes where the risk is lowest," he said. "What happens though is too many people are reactive, not putting in place necessary security until something happens."
Azar is eyeing other major towns such as Ocho Rios, May Pen and Mandeville to possibly branch out of the Corporate Area but won't do so before acquiring the necessary infrastructure and manpower.
"In this business it is very tempting to add as many clients as possible, but a ratio has to be maintained," he explained. "There has to be a balance between the number of clients and response teams or else your quality of service will fall off."
In today's world of entrepreneurship, Azar said businesses will succeed once the right decisions are made.
"Our detractors were saying we were crazy but if you're prudent and research your market, you can make it," he said.
