Furniture: AH&L Kissoon still going strong in the local furniture industry
More than half a century after the company first began trading in Georgetown as a small dry goods store AH&L Kissoon Ltd. is still seeking ways of consolidating the position it has long held as a leader in the local furniture industry and Hemraj Kissoon, their key figure in what is now one of the largest manufacturing, trading and investment enterprises in Guyana is not inclined to be modest about the company’s achievements. He promotes the Kissoon brand with the zeal and confidence of a man who knows that the company’s success inheres in its longevity and the reputation it has established in one of the more competitive pursuits in the manufacturing sector.
Since the mid-1950’s A.H&L Kissoon has repeatedly “seen off” the competition in the furniture manufacturing industry and, Kissoon says, the company is more than holding its own against its contemporary competitors.
The Kissoon pride is reflected in its audacious motto that the company is ‘never knowingly undersold.” It is a boast that derives from the company’s sheer resilience and its success in sustaining demand for its products. Over time, the Kissoons have had to endure devastating family and business losses. Each time, the company has re-emerged, re-invented and seemingly reinvigorated.
In its quest to lead the way in the local furniture manufacturing sector AH&L Kissoon has undergone a major transformation that has focused on the modernization of its operations and the pursuit of a number of new investments strategically planned to consolidate its hold on the furniture industry. The company’s current holdings include a large timber concession, a lumber yard, electric and solar kiln drying facilities, machinery for the manufacture of foam and fibre and a modern furniture manufacturing factory. In effect, AH&L Kissoon Ltd. has created an integrated outfit that has given the company control over the essential raw materials and machinery that are central to its production process. The advantages that it derives from cheaper, more reliable supplies of raw materials and manufacturing capacity allows for the setting of prices that its competitors in the furniture retail sector are hard-pressed to match.
It is the company’s reputation, however, that Hemraj Kissoon appears to value most. He reflects on the Kissoon heyday, the time when its Camp and Regent streets showroom attracted customers from all walks of life, from well-to-do home owners seeking after plush sofas and fine cabinets to working-class converts to the Kissoon brand seeking to take advantage of its hire purchase arrangements. Hemraj Kissoon is convinced that there are homes in Guyana that still boast items of furniture bought from Kissoon forty years ago.
In 2001 urban street protests associated with the outcome of the country’s general elections saw the Kissoon showroom and store go up in flames. Within months of the tragedy the site had been cleared of debris, the familiar trading logo remounted and the company was trading again under a makeshift roof. Its new premises, just opposite the site of the old showroom, are more than ample testimony to the company’s determination to survive adversity.
Changing times have brought fresh waves of competition from other local furniture manufacturers and from imported furniture. Consumer taste too has changed over time. AH&L Kissoon Ltd. has changed with the times. Its modern factory located on the Industrial Site has remained abreast of trends and tastes in the furniture industry while its marketing and promotional pursuits continue to reflect the versatility of its craftsmen in the production of contemporary furnishing ranging from dining suites to “bedroom basics.”
Publicly AH&L Kissoon has retained its image as a “family business.’ With the passage of time, however, the management of what is now a larger, more complex operation has changed. Hemraj Kissoon says that many of the critical posts in both the administrative and production areas of the company are held by “non-Kissoons,” qualified and experienced managers, many of whom have grown with the establishment. Their skills, he says, have been essential to realising the transformation which the company has undergone. He says that between 1960 and 2000 a relatively small quantity of furniture was imported into Guyana, a fact which he attributes to the pioneering work of AH&L Kissoon in the local furniture industry.
While the company has what Hemraj describes as “a small export market,” its primary focus is on satisfying local demand by responding to changing consumer tastes. The focus, it seems, is on sustaining the company’s reputation as furnishers to the nation.
source:http://www.stabroeknews.com
