Barbara Ellington, Acting Lifestyle Editor
Michael Ammar Sr. (left) with his son. "My grandfather always said you can get house out of business but you cannot get business out of house," said Mr. Ammar Jr. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
IN JAMAICA, the name Ammar is synonymous with fashionable clothing as well as dry goods. Like most businesses operated by descendants of Lebanese immigrants, Ammar's has grown into the most successful department store in the island.
And for the 21st century they are poised for bigger and better things.
Now in his 70s, Michael Ammar Sr. has no plans to retire and continues to expand the company he started on June 13, 1961. As he tells it, Ammar and Azar Limited were formed to rescue the first Ammar's on King Street in 1960. L.A. Henriques, Depass and India House were among the other stores operating at the time. Competition was fierce with the Hanna stores and they later moved to the Village shopping centre before settling at the Mall plaza next door.
Amart, a discount operation at 89 King Street, began in the mid-'80s, followed by the other one in The Springs on Constant Spring Road and Ammar's Next Generation in the Village; and later the Sovereign Centre Ammar's.
Last year's acquisition of the Magic Kitchen saw further expansion of the Village operations and although it is challenging to have so many outlets, Ammar Sr. is confident that with son, Michael Ammar Jr., the department store giant must now strive to get customer service to match their excellent range of merchandise.
The younger Ammar is a family man and the force behind Bacchanal Carnival; he also shoots birds annually. Father and son tell their story.
Barbara Ellington: Trace your family history in Jamaica.
Michael Ammar Sr.: My mother was born here but her father came from Lebanon at the turn of the 19th century. Like all who came at the time, they either came along with or knew someone here.
They started out in trading and developed into stores. My father, who arrived in the '40s, was a shoemaker, as he actually acquired all the machinery to set up a shoemaking business, but closed down due to prevailing labour problems at the time.
BE: Compare running a business in Jamaica today versus in the '60s when you first began?
MA Sr: In the '60s when you started out small, borrowing money to do business was difficult. Consumers were not as fashion-conscious as they are today when cable makes them aware of what is available internationally. We have to try to provide what they want at affordable prices. In some cases it's easier now, but in others it's harder.
BE: Why did you decide to go into business rather than get a profession. Is it a Lebanese family tradition?
MA Sr: No, it wasn't even suggested. When I left Wolmer's Boys' School in 1959 with Senior Cambridge passes, I went to work at my father's store. I had planned to stay a year but we expanded and the freedom of earning money made it hard to return to studies.
There are five of us: a retired nuclear phycist; a professor, a paediatrician and a businesswoman based in the company.
BE: Do you plan to retire?
MA Sr: No I want to continue till I drop.
BE: What is the outlook for Ammar's and Amart going forward?
Michael Ammar Jr.: Over the last seven years we have taken a conscious decision to reposition the stores and we have redone all of them. They have improved aesthetically and we aim to be world class; we have great infrastructure and our systems are solid. We are now focused on customer service and remaining profitable.
I came into the business at the end of the '70s. There were a large number of restrictions, as well as checks, raids and frequent harassment. Today there is none of that and duties have fallen; on the surface, the business environment is much simpler. But the downside is that the competition is much fiercer now and price does not matter if service is not right. That is our challenge.
There was a small core of staff who still feel that service is servitude and they were not catering to anyone, but the others have pulled them along and things have improved.
BE: How many people do you employ and what is turnover like?
MA Sr: Roughly 250, including the warehouse and factory. We probably have 25 per cent turnover but most of our core staff have been with us for a long time.
BE: Do you plan to expand Ammar's/Amart further?
MA Sr: There is a lot of talk from one source, but we first have to consolidate what we have; fix all that needs fixing and then think of expansion.
MA Jr: But we are always looking for opportunities and if the right one comes in Kingston or elsewhere, we will take it. Kingston is still not saturated with our type of business.
BE: Really, what else can the market accommodate?
MAJr: At some stage a hypermarket like Wal-Mart will come to Jamaica and it will be a competitor to all of us, covering food, houseware and clothing. From our perspective there is scope in Kingston for one more Ammar's and one more Amart. Dad and I differ on that but there are at least three locations in the island that I would like to go.
BE: What about manufacturing, are you still doing that?
MAJr: We are getting out of it here but we do pyjamas and helpers' uniforms; we now do the bulk offshore.
BE: Downtown is a sore point. In most major cities across the world, downtown is the place to live and have business; rental/lease are premium especially if there is a harbour. Would you consider further business expansion downtown and when are you and the Kingston City Centre Improvement Company (KCCIC) going to fix the problems there?
MAJr: We already have over 80 square feet of space downtown so expanding is not something we need to do. I am on the KCCIC board and this week we will have an annual general meeting and we will chart the way forward because private investors are raising hell.
They want to see work before they put up more money. Plans for the park have been approved and the tender has been submitted for the bus terminal. The plans are there, they just need to be activated.
BE: What about the unsightly buildings?
MAJr: We need to concentrate on cleaning up downtown, tearing down the old buildings, improving the economy and putting in better housing.
BE: What about the extortion problem downtown and elsewhere, how can business thrive in that atmosphere?
MAJr: I hear a lot of talk about it but you are wrong about extortion.
BE: Don't tell me that. We get the reports every day and we see the results; it's spreading in both organised and copycat forms.
MAJr: In all the years we have been here, I have only been approached twice, and on both occasions the extortionists were dealt with. It is way overblown downtown.
BE: You honestly think so?
MAJr: The people who have to pay extortionists are vendors and immigrant Chinese and Indian business people who are afraid. We know how to deal with extortionists because it's not the norm for doing business downtown.
But it is not difficult if the police really want to end it; they know who these individuals are, when they collect and how. When they say business people won't cooperate, they are the law enforcement personnel, they know what to do.
BE: What in your view is the biggest hindrance to doing business downtown?
MAJr: Location. Downtown lies between two major war zones - east and west Kingston. For people to get in they have to pass these sections. Business people have no problem getting in and out but when something happens the news blows it out of proportion. Downtown is used loosely to cover everywhere from Bull Bay to Six Miles but downtown starts at Breezy Castle and ends at Sandy Bay.
The other big hindrance is the mindset of people who do business here. They have to keep the facade of their businesses clean and update their interiors. The higglers' stores look better than many of the established owners because higglers travel and aim for world-class standards. Once the mindset changes, the crowds will come back. The biggest problem has always been a lack of public order and that has improved over the last two years.
BE: What are the KCCIC's plans for the large, incomplete market?
MAJr: We plan to lease it from the KSAC (Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation) at peppercorn rental and do major refurbishing to get it running like a shopping centre. We would love to see Coronation Market operate like an American Farmer's Market.
BE: Is there a timeline on all of this?
MAJr: All our plans have a 10-year plan from start to completion. A lot is dependent on getting the KCCIC and the KSAC to sign a memorandum of understanding and for central government to start the process, since private sector funds have stopped coming in. They are waiting to see work start before putting in more.
BE: How much money do you have now?
MAJr: We have been using it to do the planning work so I'm not sure how much of the $70 million is left. Government has pledged $250 million and we are still to find $150 million more. My problem is getting the work started; some work has actually started because the well in the park is being reconditioned so I hope the rest will begin in 2006.
BE: When the well is reactivated, what will that mean for downtown's water supply?
MAJr: It will provide water at a minimal cost to flush public toilets and water the plants.
BE: Will the park return to its 1980s splendour or match the standard of Emancipation Park?
MAJr: The plan is to ask the National Housing Trust to design a maintenance schedule for it. Like everything else, a lot of our problems would be solved if we did not have weak governance. Coming out of the '90s, we have had great plans but no implementation.
BE: What is your hope for Jamaica?
MAJr: I hope that our younger generation of politicians will not follow the examples of the others.
BE: What kind of advice would you give an aspiring entrepreneur?
MASr: Hard work and dedication are the keys to any business. You can make almost anything a success but you have to be willing to work; you cannot sit behind a desk and run a business.
MAJr: (I would advise them to go into the financial sector; it's the only one making money). But seriously, you have to be different; put in the time and not expect to get rich over night. Many Jamaicans start a business then get fat and complacent. My grandfather used to say: store can give you house but house can't give you store." You must keep reinvesting in the business and upgrade constantly.
