The Sunday Times FT - Feel for your country

“When you do things from your heart, you win,” was the key message given by Ranjit Page, Managing Director of Cargills at the monthly meeting of the Sunday Times Business Club held at the Trans Asia Hotel last week.

Being one of the architects and an authority of the supermarket concept in Sri Lanka, Page made an off the cuff and an enlightening presentation on the supermarket and food industry in Sri Lanka to the members of the club.

Page said he was part of a family of 8 children of whom six were accountants and wanted to be in the field of marketing and selling. “I didn’t have the knowledge and skills for Sales and Marketing and I found it difficult to find a job, simply because I seemed to have the wrong surname,” said Page who eventually started off as a Travel Assistant in the late 1970s. Though the job profile was to welcome tourists to Sri Lanka at the airport and carry their bags, Page said that he used to think in his heart that “Sri Lanka gave me this opportunity”, a thought that later would become one of the key driving factors of the Cargills and “Food City” initiative.

In 1983, Cargills was in the business of importing and selling goods mainly in the areas of pharmaceuticals. With a turnover of around 60 million rupees per annum and a workforce of around 300 people, the Cargills establishment mainly catered to the affluent people of Colombo at that time. Page in the meantime had moved over from the travel industry to Cornell and Company and by 1982 had risen to the position of Deputy General Manager of the company.

Moving over to Cargills as the Operational Manager, he conceived the idea of opening up the first ever supermarket of Cargills and presented a proposal to the management. The location was to be at Staples Street, where the environment was far from what it was today. “No one went there and only boys came there to play soccer and cricket,” he recalled.

“Everyone today talks about and emphasizes on the location, when setting up a business, but we made it,” said Page. He also said that “People lined up in their numbers at the supermarket on the opening day” which was a result of all the hard work which went into setting up of the supermarket, where Page himself was the architect setting up structures and shelves in the premises, painting, etc…. as he had to work with limited resources, most of the time by himself. “We had to teach ourselves and we did everything ourselves, driving the truck and going to the market to buy vegetables, etc….”

The food industry is an industry which is not looked at by corporate entities, mainly due to the lack of high returns. Governments rise and fall due to food, as food at affordable prices is important to the common man. Keeping prices affordable especially for fresh produce is an enormous task.

“We made mistakes and we learnt from them. If we don’t learn from them and mistakes continue they become habits which cannot be afforded especially in the food industry,” indicated Page, emphasizing that “When you do things from your heart, you win”. He said no one knows what goes on in the back rooms of the supermarket, which is the heart of the supermarket operation.

Explaining further, he said “Think of your business as what you would do in school and make it a happy and disciplined place”. Indiscipline cannot be afforded in the food industry as it contributes to wastage and directly affects the ability to keep prices affordable to the common man. Selling volumes is key in the food industry to make a marginal profit in addition to getting the pricing right.

After the successful venture into supermarkets, Page approached KFC for a joint venture in the early 1990s as they used local chicken. The joint venture was formed and later Cargills setup their first manufacturing plant to produce meat products.

“Be sincere and doors will open. You need to keep pushing, believing and trusting in yourself and in what you set out to do,” he said addressing the attentive audience on issues which served as valuable advice to the young business executives. In 1996 Cargills had 11 stores in its chain and that year Cargills was to make a substantial lost. The CEB went on a strike in 1996 causing a power outage and Cargills suffered a loss of approximately Rs 70 million due to this. And this was simply due to the outlets not being equipped with Generators to handle such a contingency. “Today we are equipped with generators that can take care of all requirements of the outlets for three (3) full days” he said.

By 1999 Cargills had grown to 16 outlets, one Factory and 2 KFC outlets. Page went to Hanguranketha for a meeting of farmers organized by local government staff. He was overwhelmed by comments from farmers present. Farmers pleading for help, asking that their produce be purchased at a fair price moved Page who later conceived the idea of starting a collection centre operation, yet again a concept which he had no idea or skills. Back in Colombo he approached one of his colleagues and said “Lets go, lets help them. These people are in deep trouble and they need our help”. The collection centre operation was started by sending a 4000 kg capacity truck every week to collect a mere 400 kg of produce which at the time everyone thought was not beneficial.

In 2001 an opportunity came to acquire the Wall Ice Cream plant and Cargills acquired same. “Where does the milk for the ice cream come from? From the farmers and here was another opportunity to help the farming community” he said reminding the audience that if one’s intentions are sincere, doors will open.

“Love and passion is what we thrive for in the corporate world today. But we also need to seriously consider the impact the brand would bring to our country,” he said indicating that we have very strong Sri Lankans. He further said that “No one thought that Cargills would buy the Wall Ice Cream factory. But we did and we revolutionized the industry”.

Cargills moved to acquire CPC Agri Foods in 2003 and Page had to face a set of angry employees as they had been a through a series of takeovers. Putting them at ease and gaining their support Page in this utmost sincerity told them “I don’t sell people. I only sell goods”. With this acquisition and with his desire to think big, the Supply Chain Management system for Cargills was born. “People always make the difference. They are our greatest asset and in any business,” he emphasized.

The needs of the common man became the focus of Cargills in their endeavour to make a better life for them. If you win the stomach, you win the heart and being Sri Lankan and honest about it was important to them. The idea that Supermarkets were only meant for those who come in cars and not for the common man needed to be changed and this yet again was a challenge for Cargills.

The “Ayubowan” concept was born and this was something which came from “our hearts” said the Managing Director. “We led by example” he said and gave an example of how he himself wore a sarong to convince the doorman at the Staples Street outlet to wear it, to be Sri Lankan and to be identified with the common man.

Cargills today concentrate on bringing a better life to the citizens of this country and more importantly being honest about what they do. Approximately 70% of the Cargills team is less than 25 years of age and the organization is focused on rural people. He also told the audience that “We should feel for our country” in whatever that we do. Speaking on the way forward for Cargills in 2007 and beyond, he said that it was to “Understand what Sri Lankans need and how we can help the rural youth of Sri Lanka”. Sri Lanka also has the highest expenditure in the world on food which is at around 60% of an individual’s income.

Responding and commenting on the impact the Supermarket chain has on the normal retailers in reply to a question raised, he said the supermarket chain creates competition wherever they operate and the winner is the consumer. Land prices go up, they provide employment, etc…. all of these are benefits to the consumer.

Concluding his presentation, he appealed to those present at the meeting “to become very sensitive to our country.

We have to accept life and move on”. Today Corporate Organizations concentrate on Corporate Social Responsibility, a buzz word. “But at Cargills, my business is my CSR,” said Page. The Trans Asia Hotel and Lion Brewery Ltd were co-sponsors of the meeting.