Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer
Nicky Feanny of Rum, Roast and Royals gestures during an interview at his Norberry Drive office last Wednesday. Feanny has plans to establish about six branches and is not ruling out Caribbean expansion. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
WITH A name like his, many would assume that Nicky Feanny would be running a business started by his grandparents several decades ago. On the contrary, he's a young Jamaican returned resident whose family emigrated in the 1980s, and after graduating from university as a management and construction engineering major, decided to come home and work in the local hardware at Tools Hardware and Supplies before launching out on his own.
Prior to fulfilling his desire to return home, Mr. Feanny worked in the South Florida construction industry but got despondent after Hurricane Andrew. The timing to return home was good and when he was ready to test the business waters in Jamaica, he applied for a shop in the Island Village Shopping Centre in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, during its construction. That was followed by an application for a duty-free licence.
INDIGENOUS JAMAICAN BRANDS
That was the start of Rum, Roast and Royals, a chain of duty-free shops specialising in packaging the best of indigenous Jamaican brands of rums, coffee and cigars, attractively packaged and targeted primarily at the tourist market but also local shoppers. The concept includes some imported wines, other locally produced condiments and spices and accessories such as the right brewing utensils. It has worked and there are now three existing stores with at least one scheduled for all tourist resort areas.
In addition to the store in the Island Village Shopping Centre in Ocho Rios, there are two other oulets: located at the Marina in Port Antonio, Portland and Devon House, St. Andrew; and there is a kiosk in Montego Bay at the Sangster International Airport. That kiosk will be upgraded to become a member of the chain in the future. Mr. Feanny is not resting on his laurels; he is aggressively looking for other locations in Montego Bay as well as in Negril.
His wife Sharon just gave birth to his first son and although already a stepfather, the new addition to his family has dramatically altered his perspective on life and his plans for carving out a future for his children. He tells his story.
BE: Where did the name Rum, Roast and Royals come from?
NF: It came out of the main line of products we carry - the range of our fine rums, our magnificent coffee and the cigars that are locally made. That is why we have two Arawak Indians in our logo; they are the Jamaican inhabitants who first discovered these products and have a link with them.
BE: How have you found doing business in Island Village? Some people say things are slow there.
NF: Island Village has had its hiccups. Ninety per cent of its clientele is from the cruise ships, and this goes for the entire Ocho Rios. Without cruise ships, it's hard; all-inclusive hotels offer everything, including shopping, so the days when tourists went out to shop and explore are over. In the slow season, there are only three ships weekly and there are three plazas competing so we all have to try to entice visitors with different offerings.
BE: What is the response to your products?
NF: We advertise in the ships, both as a plaza and individually, so the response isn't bad.
BE: Do you think you have found a niche market?
NF: The market was always here, we have just found a way to package the products differently; brand Jamaica is the most amazing so far anywhere in the world but it's how it's presented that makes the difference.
BE: Any plans to diversify the range further?
NF: We are now in the process of making our own blend of coffee through the Coffee Board; our own spices, such as one called A Royal Jerk, which the English love. We are looking at a jerk seasoning made in Mandeville, some guava jams too. We are getting all the cottage industries involved, not reinventing the wheel but perhaps changing tastes where necessary to suit our liking.
BE: Tell me about the stores.
NF: Ocho Rios came first, then Port Antonio. The season there is short; it was opened in 2003. Things are slow but I am confident about the Port Authority and their plans. Kingston came on stream last year and it has surprised me. I was not sure of the wines but the local clientele has surprised us. It is both encouraging and amazing what they ask for.
Devon House is a great location; the property needs a clean-up, more shops and more capital injection to get it where it ought to be. We are looking at Montego Bay next. We have looked at Negril and we are keeping our thoughts on the Lucea pier.
BE: Ideally, how many Rum, Roast and Royals do you think we have the scope to take?
NF: Ideally I am looking at six locations; we have looked at other islands too. Going out into the Caribbean is the right thing to do. Jamaica has the best brand and we need to show it off. We may have a love-hate relationship with some aspects of the island but we are still an island of great people. Look at Asafa Powell who just made a new world record; we are battered but we always rise and we are never down for long.
BE: So having emigrated once before, is this something you would consider again? The recent crime wave has caused some persons to be considering this option once more; don't you think it's better the try to fix the problem?
NF: It's hard. Many of my peers who returned home with me came back to family businesses. I did not have one to go into (my father is a doctor). It's very difficult to do business when you have to borrow capital at high interest rates. Whatever you have, has to be spent wisely. We did not borrow to do this we did it from savings so I feel sorry for some of my friends who have had to borrow to start up. If you are in this, you have to do it for the long run. So I am here for the long haul and my wife has also established her business here.
BE: Was this really what you wanted to do when you thought about going into your own business?
NF: No, I wanted to become a developer, I was always in building but I have not shelved the dream, it's part of the vision. I do my own stores in a style that has a Jamaican feel.
BE: What type of structures are best suited for Jamaica?
NF: We already have some of the best structures here, made of block and steel, anything reinforced with foundations that can take the shocks of being in sub-tropic conditions. But reinforcement is key.
BE: What is the biggest challenge with Rum, Roast and Royals? Are you doing enough to satisfy tourists' demands?
NF: There is not a major challenge right now, I just want to keep diversifying the product but it takes money to do that. There are cottage industries that are producing such things as flavoured/herbal honey, peach preserves made with fruit from the Blue Mountains, rum balls, curry pepper sauce and otahiti jam and these go down well with tourists. I find them all over the island and we collaborate.
BE: How many persons do you employ and how do you find them?
NF: Right now it's 32, and I find them amazing; I consider myself lucky. In Ocho Rios, most of them have come out of the tourist industry; the Human Employment And Resource Training/National Training Agency (HEART/NTA) does a fantastic job in preparing them for this type of work. They have to be commended because there is a difference between those trained by HEART and others.
Dr. Rebecca Tortello did some research for us and the staff have used it to educate the tourists who ask questions about our rums, coffee and cigars. That selling point means a lot to customers.
BE: For someone setting up a business in Jamaica now, what are some of the things to consider? I ask this against often heard claims that foreigners have an easier time coming here and setting up business while locals get a hard time.
NF: I am a hands-on person, I went through all the channels. There is a problem of red tape and you have to nag continuously to get things done. Keeping up with the taxes is another challenge, and having to change systems regularly to comply. I know we are a developing country but we need some breathing space because as soon as you find a level zone, suddenly you have to make adjustments again.
BE: What is the percentage of imports in your business?
NF: The wines are the biggest and that accounts for about 40 per cent and we try to do that at Christmas time.
BE: How do you manage to keep on top of monitoring all the branches you have at present?
NF: I go to Ocho Rios up to twice weekly sometimes, I visit Port Antonio once monthly and I am at the Kingston branch frequently. We have a kiosk at the departure lounge in Montego Bay airport and when the upgrading at that facility is complete, I plan to upgrade it to another Rum, Roast and Royals.
BE: Looking down the road, how do you see the health of the economy?
NF: I am encouraged, I look around and see established people expanding; people need to manufacture more. The expansion of the rooms in the tourism sector is another encouraging sign. I would love to see farming come back on stream. With the arable land we have, we should be feeding ourselves; all these hotels that are here need produce and some of them are saying they will have to import their fresh farm produce. This should not be so.
BE; Is anyone else in your family doing business and do you have their support?
NF: No one else runs a business. I am the only one but they are very supportive.
BE: What does the birth of a son do to you?
NF: It changes your entire perspective and makes you look at things you never did before; you start to think of a more long-term business plan and making a mark for their future.
BE: The typical day for you is ...?
NF: I leave home by 8:30 in the mornings, head straight to my office downtown and check email. Then I look at receivables and payables daily, making sure that there is a budget in place. I check the orders from each store live through a centralised network; I question what needs to be ordered and why, I look at the ranking report to see how much of and why each item is selling.
BE: You operate from a downtown office, what do you think about all this talk about plans to improve that location, is this just more talk going up into hot air?
NF: I hope not, because I believe downtown is what will be the example for the rest of the country. I believe in downtown; all other countries with that type of infrastructure are capitalising on it. We should have a Norma's restaurant down there. But when problems flare up in surrounding areas, it is downtown is blamed and that stigma hurts.
BE: When you return to development, what will your specialty be? Residential, or commercial?
NF: Commercial, because I did that in Miami and there are too many ongoing changes; commercial goes off a set plan and you are able to schedule properly.
