Doing business in the Pacific

In 2002 I decided to fly over to Temotu Province, Solomon Island on a one man expedition. What an experience that was! Loaded with 130kg of equipment with no help, very little food and water, I managed to setup a station battling inhumane humidity. The worst of all was the sleep deprivation; like in a Snickers ad, without a solid night’s sleep, I am simply a different person – irritable and vulnerable. But I made it: the H40XX logbook was filled with over 10,000 contacts, and a new one was handed to the ‘deserving’.

The truth is: I only lasted less than three weeks on the Solomons. That place is tough; way too tough even for locals.

While there, I was told a story of a Chinese merchant who opened a small one man grocery shop in a remote village on the most remote island in Temotu archipelago. A hard working businessman with a vision of building a better future by providing the locals with much needed necessities: canned food, flour, sugar, rice. He even setup a mini bakery: and in no time the smell of freshly baked buns started attracting locals from near and far. The business wasn’t really booming, but there was certainly plenty of reason to believe that in the future, persistence would pay off and that small shop would serve the locals, growing into a shining example that hard work pays off.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long until he was robbed by thugs and the shop was burnt down. The Chinese man remained determined: he built another shop, stocking even more goods – only to be robbed again. That time he barely survived the attack. The story goes further, but I’ll spare you the details: a gruesome encounter of uncrushable spirit and violent reality.

Upon returning home, I told the story to my friends. They listened carefully – but the look on their faces were a dead giveaway that with all respect, to them, the story was simply a folk tale. Eventually, not only did I give up, but as time went on, I, myself, found the story a bit too hard to believe in as well.

In October last year a small parcel arrived on my bench. It contained a completely destroyed Rolex watch with a note: “please restore, huge sentimental value”. It was the most badly damaged Rolex I had ever seen in my life. It took almost a year to source parts, remake some, repair, align, restore and adjust.

Without a doubt the most difficult and most time consuming job ever.

And couple of weeks ago, the owner arrived to collect the watch in person. I couldn’t help but to ask the obvious: what in the world happened to the watch?

He introduced himself as Ken Chan. Back in the 1980s he had an electronics and general goods shop in Honiara. One day, a bunch of prisoners escaped from the local jail. They robbed him, looted the shop, even took a Rolex off his wrist, then set fire to the shop. Yet miraculously, a few months later, the police arrested them and recovered the watch. Unfortunately, in an attempt of revenge, before it was confiscated, the thieves badly destroyed the watch. Ken kept it in its drawer for 40 years, attempting to get it restored, but that was only possible once he retired and finally returned to Sydney.

“So those stories about businesses being robbed, owners bashed, premises burned down are real?” My eyes almost popped out.

“I can tell you stories you wouldn’t believe” said Ken. “But what were you doing in the Solomons?”

I told Ken that I play radios, that I am a licensed ham and that radios are a big deal to me.

“Small world” – he said – “I am H44KC”

And there he was, the real H44KC. No longer active, but still excited. We talked for half an hour. I googled photos of Ken’s QSL card (thanks to VK2QO QRZ page!). We clicked like old lost friends, and as it is expected, took a photo together. Life is amazing.

Now, some of you wonder why is this worth sharing, and what is there to be learned from ‘doing business in the Pacific’?

As you have noticed, there is a new store in our small ham village. An enthusiastic retailer keen to gain your trust and your business, for mutual benefit.

You have two choices: to ignore me and take your business elsewhere and to watch the business go down. Of course, you would have numerous reasons to sit tight and watch from the side line: the economy is tough; you already have too many radios to play with, you have no time, ham radio is dying, or – you’ve simply lost the enthusiasm. And all those reasons would be valid.

Or – you can actually buy an item or two, every now and then, helping a small, niche business grow. Because that would be the right thing to do – especially when the economy is tough, and when ham radio is not really booming. The choice is entirely yours.

But here is the problem: if the DXing business folds up and disappears, and when in a year or two the next bright eyed, bushy tailed shop keeper comes along, he would have absolutely zero chance of convincing ICOM, ACOM, Heil, and Ranko from 4O3A – and any other major radio manufacturer that doing business in Australia is worth their trouble. “If DXing couldn’t sell our radios, what makes you think you could?” And they will be right.

I don’t think that the Australian market is too small, nor do I expect rocket fast growth overnight. But if I fail, it wouldn’t be for lack of enthusiasm, or lack of investment, or lack of marketing. It would be for one reason only: because Australian amateurs had no need for a strong, active ham retail outlet, set to serve them with integrity. And there will be nothing I can do about it.

As always, only time will tell.