Small shops beat competition with better service [1]
Friday, September 29, 2000 - 10:00. Updated on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 - 16:02.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 15, no. 3, September 2000.
The campaign by some Tongan shop owners for government to put a halt to the establishment of Chinese run shops, particularly in Nuku’alofa, has brought a mild reaction from the Chinese community.
The chairman of the Tongan Chinese Federation, Raymond Yu, through an interpreter, his secretary, H. T. Hsiung, said that the federation understood that only a few business people were behind the anti-Chinese campaign. “We know that the consumers like to buy from Chinese shops, because their goods are cheaper and they are always open,” he said. “The Chinese people who are running fale koloas are not very rich people. They buy their goods from the same wholesalers as Tongan shop owners, but the difference is that they buy more in order to get a better deal, then they narrow their profit margin so that they can sell more goods, and they open long hours,” said Raymond. “Some Tongan shops open for only a few hours in the morning and in the evening, but the Chinese shops are open 24 hours.”
Raymond pleaded with Tongan shop owners, who were against Chinese shops, to broaden their views, “this is a free country, and they should understand that business is about competition and making money.” He said that the campaign against Chinese shops was contrary to the image that Chinese had in their minds when they decided to come to Tonga, “to a country, where they are welcomed by government, to bring in foreign currencies, to set up businesses, and where you can be prosperous if you work hard.”
Noodles
Raymond is a naturalised Tongan citizen who has been in Tonga for 11 years, and is one of three Chinese wholesalers who are operating a delivery service in Tongatapu. He said he was leading the way by moving away from shops. He has bought a tuna fishing boat and is also getting into manufacturing. Starting in November he will be producing noodles and cakes at the Small Industries Centre, “with a special flavour for the local market, and we also be looking at exporting our products to other island countries.”
The federation has 120 members, most of whom are naturalised Tongan citizens. Raymond said there were 70 Chinese-run stores in Tonga, and about 70% of those shops are Tongan owned. Most goods sold in those shops were bought from Tongan wholesale outlets. He said that the vocal reaction from Tongan shop owners came about because the price for chicken pieces and lamb chops were cheaper in Chinese shops, but the reason for that was because a Chinese importer brought in several containers of the products and therefore got a good deal.