Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor
Managing director of Discount Lumber and Hardware, Basil Johnson, is an avid swimmer who boasts he could beat any man half his age. He also makes time to golf weekly. - CLAUDINE HOUSEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
BASIL JOHNSON, founder and managing director of Montego Bay-based Discount Lumber & Hardware Limited, Discount Lumber Limited and Discount Mart Limited, is one of a number of self-made businessmen in Jamaica. And at 73, he shows no sign of slowing down.
He began the journey to his present position as a construction worker at Kaiser Bauxite Company in Discovery Bay, St. Ann. After working for 10 years without promotion, he left out of frustration. He purchased land in St. Elizabeth, put up a building, bought a pick-up truck and in 1968 began to haul goods for sale.
Like others before him, he persuaded Homelectrix to give him goods on consignment, and visited Kingston once weekly to pick up materials, some days going without lunch while he loaded the trucks. He was fortunate to be approached by the then general manager of Kaiser who told him the company was in the process of handing over some buildings to Alumina Partners of Jamaica Limited (Alpart), and if he wanted the job to renovate the buildings, he could.
He made money from that project, and followed that with constructing roads and resettlement homes.
Mr. Johnson has not looked back since he made that money and today he is well established in the 'Second City'; he is married with four adult children, one of whom assists him in the business.
He makes time for golf, describes himself as a fanatic of water who swims in the sea three times a week. But Mr. Johnson continues to derive enormous pleasure from constructing homes, townhouses and apartments, refurbishing complexes and running his businesses.
He shares his story.
BE: When did you start the hardware business?
BJ: I set up in Montego Bay in 1985, and at that time interest rates had soared and the dollar was sliding. I decided that rather than borrow and build a fancy building, I would operate out of one shack, because I knew that people were not buying the building, they were buying the goods.
I was able to sell goods at a discounted price and customers liked that; they could come in and bargain with me and we have not stopped that tradition. People expect a discount and we bargain towards it. My way is to sit in the front and when customers come, they bargain; the principle continues even after 20 years.
I was fortunate to build Margaritaville for Brian Jardim in the beginning and when (Hurricane) Ivan destroyed it, I participated in the rebuilding. I have built homes at Lagoon Development, the Doctor's Cave project and I have built homes at Spring Farm and Coral Gardens.
BE: Did you come from a family that loved the construction business and would you consider yours as it is now a family business?
BJ: No, I am from St. Elizabeth, and my parents were into farming and teaching. I began at the Public Works Department as a draughtsman, then went into the bauxite industry where I learnt construction. My business is now a family business with my wife, daughter and her husband involved. My brother runs the branch in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, and his daughter works with him and my nephew works with me.
BE: Do you have any thoughts on why so few black Jamaican families are in business together compared to the Indians, Chinese, Arabs and Syrians who have settled here?
BJ: I have four children, all professionals, and I was only able to convince one to come back and work with me. The rest have no interest in it; maybe my daughter will handle it all. I find it's better to hand over to one child rather than all; fortunately my daughter is a CPA and very good at handling money.
But I don't know why more black families are not interested in following in their parents' footsteps. They seem to want to become lawyers, doctors, accountants and work for other people rather than themselves. However, I think it's better when one sibling carries on the running of a family business and shares the profits. If all are running it, there will be too many views on how it should be done.
BE: What is it like to build a house?
BJ: It gives me a great feeling; I love to build homes. It's a thrill and I get great satisfaction from it. I work with an architect and I tell him what I want to the last detail. But I could build a house without a drawing.
BE: So the hardware side of the business is compatible with the construction side?
BJ: Yes, because I was in a position to charge a small contractors' fee because we supplied building materials for the jobs.
BE: Do you ever get tired of it?
BJ: Not at all! I am now in the process of putting up homes at Emerald Cays - 17 luxury homes for US$1 million. My partners and I bought the six acres of land from the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and when complete, it will be a gated upscale community.
Discount Hardware is a big business; we have two stores in Montego Bay- warehouse space, as well as a branch in St. Elizabeth.
BE: How many people do you employ and how have you found them over the years?
BJ: In all our stores we have over 200 people, and one of my daughters and my son-in-law run the business with me. My other daughter is an engineer in Los Angeles and one son is a lawyer in New York; the other daughter is also a lawyer and lives in Miami.
My children are my greatest achievement. I have found the staff good over the years because we employ many women; we train them in the hardware business, they like it and we find that they become better at selling hardware than the men.
They are charming and people like that and maintain a good rapport with them. We operate a system where we give bonuses and I believe that after two years of working for me a man must learn a trade.
BE: What about fraud, how is it dealt with, when and if it occurs?
BJ: We have a lot of cases of fraud such as with credit cards and we also have pilferage, but we have put systems in place for it. It's something we have to live with. Our system usually detects it and we have to spend a lot on security. The staff is loyal and good. My philosophy is that the staff is a reflection of management; they are the ones who deal with customers and the way you treat them is translated to customers, so we try to maintain a good relationship with them.
BE: Talk about some of the hardships with running Discount Hardware and Lumber over the years; what have some of your biggest challenges been?
BJ: When we established the Montego Bay stores in the mid-'80s, interest rates started to climb but I have never written a cheque that bounced in my life and I try to maintain good relationships with my suppliers.
That respect from them is critical and we were also able to get goods from both local and international sources. We have coped by buying in bulk and buying cheaply, so we can sell to customers at the best possible price.
BE: How have you kept things afloat in a climate where the value of our dollar continues to fall and you have to spend so much foreign exchange?
BJ:Unfortunately, as we speak the dollar is still sliding but what I find is that when you have a big inventory you are able to cushion the prices of goods to customers for a while. You don't have to put up price immediately there is a fall in the dollar and I believe in doing that. That is why we have invested in warehouses for storage of our large inventory.
BE:How did you manage in the recent cement shortage?
BJ:We distribute cement evenly to customers as we see fit. We did not have to import and the duties are too high anyway. We have a good rapport with Carib Cement; we are fairly large and they trust us.
BE:From what do you derive most satisfaction?
BJ:Most satisfaction comes when people come in and you are able to satisfy their needs. This happens especially with the country folk who come in and the women who ask for advice about construction. I find that nowadays the women handle the money and they do very well at it. Women are not ashamed to ask questions about construction and we are able to answer them. So we aim to help them keep costs down because that is very important to them.
BE:What advice would you give a young man about to set up a hardware business in Jamaica?
BJ:There are many opportunities for people wanting to set up business in Jamaica today. The most important thing is to develop a name and a good reputation. That, as well as your relationship with people, is what will make you. Jamaicans will introduce you to their friends and insist that they come and buy from you if your name is good. When you go into business, the relationship you have with the people you make contact with can make or break you.
BE:Many say that the current business climate is bad; what is your view?
BJ:In my field - construction - there is a boom right now. It generates employment and out here in the west, we have hotels, the Greenfield project, the Indian community is putting up a shopping complex; there is a building boom out in Tryall, Hanover, now and others are getting ready to start new projects.
Many returning residents are also building huge homes. Jamaicans opt for home rather than in Florida where prices are high and there is a hurricane problem. I see housing schemes and they are sold as fast as they go up. I can think of Mango Walk, townhouses at Long Hill and that is a sign that the economy is getting better.
I went through the '90s financial crisis when interest rates skyrocketed and I refused to borrow. I would not borrow at the time to build a new place; people were buying my goods, not my building, so we remained humble. If you are humble, the sky is the limit.
BE:Have you ever been tempted to get into any other area of the business?
BJ:No, but I trade in real estate; I buy, renovate and sell residences and other buildings. I am now in the prices of renovating Montego Club. This will fetch US$80,000-$90,000.
BE:I notice that Montegonians always speak in United States dollar terms, why is that?
BJ:Yes, we do, and I don't know why. I suppose it's because we deal with so much foreign exchange here in the tourism business, which is our biggest source of income. But those studio apartments fetch just under J$5 million. The location makes the difference.
BE:One of the factors affecting businesses in Jamaica is the high cost of security because of crime. How has crime affected your business and how do you cope with security costs?
BJ:Apart from the instances of fraud we spoke about, I have not had serious crime problems. But it costs a lot to employ security, I have one company from whom I employ guards 24 four hours a day and I have to have Brinks pick up cash. We lose about five per cent of inventory to mistakes and theft and another two per cent goes into paying for security.
BE:What are your views on the crime situation in Montego Bay and the rest of the island?
BJ:It is past acceptable proportions and needs to be curbed. I think we have to put idle inner-city residents to work on construction sites. I have been advocating this for some time now. Some boys are already fathers at age 15 and they want money instead of education, so we need to train them while they earn to support themselves. If they are not idle there will be less crime.
BE:In the over 20 years that you have lived in Montego Bay, what are some of the changes you have seen and how do you think the city can further improve?
BJ:Apart from the hotels that have been and are still being built, the Hip Strip is a very attractive place; there is a lot of expansion taking place and it needs to be further developed as a tourist area, but lots more can be done such as proper lighting and road surface and a total renovation is needed so people can interact with the tourists. That used to happen when I just came here. We need to take the traffic off and put in walkways and sidewalk cafes, especially with our climate.
We need to turn things around so people can feel free to walk safely.
BE:If you could live your life all over again, is there anything you would do differently?
BJ:I don't think so, I have had a good life I came from a farming community but I think I have lived a better life than my five-year-old pampered grandson who is now learning to play golf at a five-star hotel. I did not have his opportunities, but my upbringing gave me values that are serving me till now and I am proud of it; I have no regrets. As a child I had my own garden, I swam, played cricket in the dirt, we respected our elders and each other and I don't think I could have had it any better.
BE:What is your wish for Jamaica?
BJ:My wish is that whoever takes over leadership will put the country first and is accountable to the people. Jamaica needs accountable leadership and citizens who hold our leaders accountable for their actions.
