Construction
Construction
PHOTO: TONY MCQUILKIN savings, and borrowed all he could, to buy freehold a plot of land off the government. That plot is where the business now proudly stands and prospers in the neat steel-framed building that was bought in the USA, shipped to Grenada, erected, and quickly moved into.
Emmanuel Duncan Sr retired towards the end of 2007 and his son, Jr, became the managing director. Emmanuel Sr is still the sole shareholder and drops in occasionally when his advice is needed, but it is his son who has successfully run the business since then. In 2007 there were 12 members of staff yet by early 2015 he had almost doubled this to 20. The shortest tenure of any of these employees is four years, and, furthermore, the longest serving member is Teresa, mentioned earlier, who has worked with the family-run business from the start in 1996, and who has a son who now also works here— that’ s a sign of great employee relations and no doubt brings
88 exceptional loyalty and commitment.
Since 2007 Emmanuel Jr has also more than tripled the revenue from EC $ 1.7m to roughly EC $ 6m. Of this, roughly 22 % goes on running costs. About a further 63 % goes on the costs incurred in sales, such as the transport and import duties involved in getting the items to Grenada and into the shop. This is so high because Southern
Electrical focuses on being a bestvalue business and makes a high turnover that returns a smaller profit on each item, but which sees a greater number of items sold. The well-stocked shop sells everything from small electrical appliances, such as microwaves and blenders, to electrical items for the residential, commercial, and industrial projects on the island.“ We also sell
www. businessgrenada. com some plumbing-related items, such as PVC fittings”, says Emmanuel Jr,“ along with a lot of tools for electricians”. One of the reasons that Southern Electrical is such a five-star enterprise is that it seeks to service the needs of all its customers and will quickly place an order when the required items are not in stock.
“ There are three aspects of brand dynamism”, Emmanuel Jr explains, which are“ best value, expert advice, and quality products”, Every customer deserves and receives a high-quality experience of each of these.
Southern Electrical achieves best value by ensuring that its products are competitively priced: management actively strives to ensure that customers can’ t buy similar quality products for less in Grenada. As for expert advice, staff members receive complete training and there is always someone available to discuss a customer’ s needs, and ensure that the best solution to an electrical problem is provided. Quality is assured by supplying products that have been rated by a standards body in the region from which the product is