Lascelles Chin …. the Journey of a Jamaican Entrepreneur

Lascelles get up is founder, chair homosexual and Chief executive military officer of the Lasco Group of Companies in Jamaica. The Lasco group is made up of Lasco Distributors, Lasco Foods Successors Ltd, Lasco Foods Ltd, Lasco Barbados Ltd, Lasco m bingletary service Limited and Lasco Remittance Services. The range of products and services delivered by the companies is diverse. Lasco Foods Successors Ltd is account able for the manufacturing and exporting of soybean based products while Lasco Foods Ltd is responsible for the packaging of milk powders.Lasco Distributors Ltd is responsible for the local diffusion of the ever so complicateing range of consumer and pharmaceutical products that has made Lasco a household foretell in Jamaica. These companies currently run by Lascelles mentum marks the present milestone on an entrepreneurial journey by Lascelles bring up that has stretched for much than forty years, Mr. raise intends to continue this quest for other forty y ears and beyond. His entrepreneurial journey started in 1961. harmonise to Mr. chin up, he started duty with ?175 and was at a great disadvantage as many prominent families were dominating the commercial landscape in Jamaica at the time. He persevered, did his research and look ont as much as he could some manufacturing and distribution practices, importation and various related fields. His policy was to deal frankly with his customers, work very hard and close to importantly, avoid spending more than he profited, (Observer 2009). Accordingly this helped him to achieve achievement.He in any case realized preferably early in life that the only way to maintain success as a line of line of merchandise entrepreneur was by honing his skills, hard work, discouragemination, perseverance, lucidness of vision and the ability to see obstacles as challenges, (Observer 2009). After graduating from in high spirits teach in the 1950s Lascelles Chin worked as a lab technician for a short period before taking up a bloodline as a salesman. He did healthful, and revolve ab forthed on saving portions of his requital which he later used to start National vocation Company.This article of belief of not spending more than you earn or saving as much as you can from your earnings would set the stage for his growing as an entrepreneur. With this lineage he sold peas and powdered pepper on a commission pedestal. He later became a distributor of Henkel products upon testimonial from a visiting representative. The business did well by targeting furniture manufacturers with the Pattex instigator of adhesive. Later, during the 1970s, when people were divergence Jamaica in droves, Mr. Chin decided to stay and expand his warehouse and factory. Here Mr.Chin demonstrates the strength and resolution to move against the heave and lay foundations for the future when others were packing up and calling it quits. With time the business moved from Orange Street, downtown capital of Jamaica to East Street and thusly to its current location on Red Hills Road, (Gleaner 2006). He later went on operate other lines of business, Kingston Heirlooms, manufacturing and exporting furniture, Datrex Limited, computer supplies and parts, Triple A Car Rental, Zenith Insurance Brokers, Soft Sheen and Exotic Farms Limited to name a few, (Gleaner 2006).It was however the LASCO branded businesses LASCO Foods Limited and LASCO Distributors Limited operated by Mr. Chin from the 1980s which made him and his businesses household names deep down Jamaica. The motivation rotter his businesses.. the unfulfilled needs identified A journey which started with a man selling peas and powered seasoning on a commission basis had now developed into a consider of businesses driven by the resembling man fuelled with a passion to deliver the best range for notes to its customers.According to the companys website, Lascelles Chin founded LASCO in 1988 its initial function included the importation of bulk skimmed milk powder and repackaging of sachets for distribution within the Jamaican market. Chins intention was to provide a starting time of milk protein which was affordable for all. Since then Lascelles Chin business has freehanded from packaging and distributing skim milk to the incorporated entity it is today providing a immense range of pharmaceutical, food, household and private care products to Jamaica the Caribbean, Latin the States, North America and England, (LASCO website, 2010).Lascelles Chin apparently influenced by his daily and close interaction with the fume root people on the streets of Kingston during his earlier days as a Salesman, having seen their need for an improved nutritional intake sought to ancestor and deliver products at tolls which could be afforded by all. By doing so he has made valuable contribution to the development of the Jamaican companionship and its delve force with his address of nutrition or nutritious pro ducts within the fall into place of the poor and needy.His drive in this area has lead to the pioneering of a number of soy based protein products again with an emphasis on nutritious value and affordability. Procurement of resources Lascelles Chin was able to start his first business, National handicraft Company with a few pounds, an accumulation of his savings from his job as a lab technician and sales person. Along the way his business grew callable to his timely and astute business decisions which included ventures some of which were risky at the time.Some of those businesses induce failed due to changes in the Jamaican landscape, for instance Kingston Heirlooms, his furniture business which was a good earner of valuable orthogonal flip at the time suffered from changes in goernment policies which made conditions serious for manufacturers. In order to deliver affordable products LASCO has gone to great lengths to source raw materials, consumer and pharmaceutical goods fro m cost effective sources. LASCO has formed allegiance with major(ip) international manufacturers. One of those searches led LASCO to Solae Incorporated, a subsidy of the DuPont Group.With their help LASCO was able to pioneer its current and growing range of soy protein isolate products, facilitating the delivery of highly tasty, nutritious products at an incredible low price to consumers crossways the Caribbean, (LASCO website, 2010). According to LASCOs website, the popularity of their soy based product has made LASCO the bend One customer in the world for soy protein isolate from Solae Incorporated. Additionally, the American Soybean Association has hailed the LASCO Food Drink line as the tastiest soy product in the world. Bolstered by this success, LASCO continues its global search for the most affordable, best quality products and contract branded corned beef from Argentina, mackerel from Chile, tomato ketchup from the Eastern Caribbean, and vitamins from an outstanding US s upplier, whole milk from Ireland, and Corn Flakes from Germany (LASCO website, 2010).LASCO Distributors has also formed an important strategic alliance with Johnson & Johnson (Jamaica) Limited on April 2, 2001. As a result of that arrangement, LASCO Distributors handles the distribution of all Johnson & Johnson products while LASCO Pharmaceutical parting is esponsible for Lifescan, Contact Lens, and Pharmacy sales. (LASCO website, 2010) According to an interview conducted by Gleaner Lifestyle Editor, Barbara Ellington with Lascelles Chin in 2006 and published in may 2006, a lot of ride is placed in sourcing by the LASCO group. Approximately 50% is purchased locally, 15% within the CARICOM countries and the rest from international firms. According to Mr. Chin in that interview, part of his dodge lies in the fact that he sources well and is not greedy for Brobdingnagian profit margins, this strategy facilitates giving the customers value for currency, considering the poorest in t he society at all times.He effectively reaps the benefits of the eventual sales volume by keeping his prices one tenth, one fifth or even fractional of others, (Gleaner, 2006). Lascelles Chin takes pride in the LASCO team who support and execute the corporate strategy on a daily basis in their several(prenominal) roles. According to the Gleaner Article, May 2006, he indicated that his team is a hard running(a) and dedicated one which operates like a family they are treated well and are willing to go beyond the call of duty. He believes he has some of the best workers in Jamaica. Challenges faced and overcomeThe challenges faced by Lascelles Chin during his entrepreneurial journey have been as varied as each of the over forty years since he started National Trading Company. He has faced numerous challenges with financing, security cost, regime regulations, changing technology, and the ever changing Jamaican economic landscape to name a few. According to Mr. Chin in his interview with Barbara Ellington, In the early days, he wanted a line of credit of ?1,000, and the banks would not give it to him. They thought he was crazy, he eventually got it from Scotia bank.His problems with pilferage downtown forced a heading of his earlier trading operations from East Street to Red Hills Road. Today his operations on Red Hills Road and those at his expansive distribution localise at White Marl Central Village, due to their location in ii troubled communities have created high security cost. The LASCO team in a bid to mitigate this cost at these locations takes steps to work with the communities, form good relationships and avoid going home late.Faced with the high manufacturing cost of the 1990s Lascelles.Chin was forced to shut down and bear the losses associated with his furniture and data processing companies. Mr. Chin has however graciously trustworthy the doctrine that failure in a business is an probability to learn. In his bid to He has fought and loss battles with the government pertaining to government regulations geared towards protecting the local milk industry by its imposition of tax income levies on powdered milk. LASCO imports a lot of its raw materials and finished products, this creates a demand for foreign currency to service those foreign accounts.In a bid to lessen this strenuous demand compounded by the ever depreciating Jamaican dollar LASCO has leverage its business with the inclusion of LASCO Financial services, a licensed cambio and LASCO Remittance Services a Money yard representative in Jamaica. These two businesses along with LASCO Successors, which manufactures and exports soy-based, products helps to generate the foreign exchange ask by the LASCO Group. Financial Performance and Customers learning of the business To date LASCO has been doing well.Lead by its founders philosophy of giving back from the profits made, the corporation has made numerous and constant sponsorships and contributions to various areas of nation building, The National Policeman, Nurse, Teacher and Principal and Pharmacist of the form Awards, are just a few of the many such programmes that LASCO has been associated with over the years. It contributes to various school feeding programmes, school related ambitions, it makes donations to various government programmes, mothers and various charities. In return LASCO has gain customer loyalty which keeps the wheels of their business turning.The LASCO brand is currently a household name, synonymous with the provision of rose-cheeked nutritious and affordable products and services. According to its website, LASCO is renowned for its quality beverages, cereals, canned meats and sauces, personal care items, household products and pharmaceuticals. The company has pioneered a range of products, which utilizes soy protein and delivers to the consumer a highly nutritious product at an incredible low price. Future Outlook In the earlier operations of his business, Lasce lles Chin was back up by is then wife Audrey Chin and other family members at incompatible points along the journey. Today, his eldest daughter holds a senior position in one of the divisions. The LASCO business is a going concern and will stay on that way whilst it continues to offer and deliver the kind of products and services that has led to its satisfying growth over the last two decades. The core business has gravid from offering three products to over an hundred items. Its consumer and pharmaceutical lines continues to grow with the appurtenance of a range of products each year. The LASCO brand now includes the LASURE, LASCARE and LASMED range of products.Its focus is still on the provision of best quality for the consumers money. Steps have been taken to expand their warehouse and distribution plant life in White Marl. They have also invested heavily in a new information technology system. Their distribution network continues to spread crossways the Caribbean, Latin and Central America, The UK and Canada. Though it is dogged by constant competition from major players in the respective markets, LASCO continues to carve out a ceding back for itself by being the low cost, and value for money supplier of consumer and pharmaceutical products within Jamaica.Conclusion and Opinion of the entrepreneurs journey Lascelles Chin journey has been one that strongly demonstrates the power of determination mixed with lucid effort in spite of adverse circumstances. Though he has won numerous awards and worn various civic hats including, The Order of Jamaica, The 2001 Business attracter of the Year, The 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Jamaica Institute of Management, The President of the Jamaica Exporters Association and is considered to be one of Jamaicas leading philanthropists, he remains humble in his quest to make Living Affordable for the Jamaican people.He is an intensity to all he has in no uncertain way present that much can be gained, even with a small start. His entrepreneurial prowess were not garnered in academia, but were nurtured nonetheless by a quest to understand the business landscape and environment ensuring that he mum clearly what he was shaping and the factors that would ensure a successful movement of those ventures.He was unsuccessful in some of his ventures but was not deter from his quest to make a valiant contribution to the development of Jamaica. If I were to have taken the journey taken by Lascelles Chin, before I understood his process and his strategy for success, I probably would have halt from the 1970s and become a part of the massive tide of migrants leaving the island for a better opportunity elsewhere.I believe I have a bit of persistence and perseverance but probably would have been deterred from pursuing ventures geared towards improving the quality of life of the Jamaican society by the negative elements within the same society who would have pilfered by business place. The cha llenges presented by the lack of effort from the different governments to preserve manufacturing or keep the exchange rate stable or exercise the measures needed to curb crime and criminality would have probably led to my fix shop and leaving Jamaica.However, based on the lessons learnt from the journey of Lascelles Chin who started out with his savings, made prudent decisions, braved the economic times and conditions, focused on his end of improving the quality of life of the poor and needy, through various economic, governmental and technological and social changes, I would take up the mantle of entrepreneurship, having the taste that success can be achieved, through perseverance, determination, clarity of vision, whilst taking one step at a time, spending less than I earn and treating each failure challenge or obstacle as an opportunity to advance.ReferencesEllington Barbara May 22, 2006, The Monday Interview Lascelles Chin Brand control at its Best. Retrieved on June 17, 20 10 from http//www. jamaica- gleaner. com/gleaner/20060522/business/business1. html Ellington Barbara May 22, 2006, The Monday Interview Lascelles Chin Brand Domination at its Best. Retrieved on June 17, 2010 from http//www. jamaica- gleaner. com/gleaner/20060522/business/business1. html Ellington Barbara May 22, 2006, The Monday Interview Lascelles Chin Brand Domination at its Best.Retrieved on June 17, 2010 from http//www. jamaica- gleaner. com/gleaner/20060522/business/business1. html Ellington Barbara May 22, 2006, The Monday Interview Lascelles Chin Brand Domination at its Best. Retrieved on June 17, 2010 from http//www. jamaica- gleaner. com/gleaner/20060522/business/business1. html Kumar, S (June 2003), Transformation A Journey. 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