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May 8, 2003 |
FEATURED ENTREPRENEUR: ROSE LAED, KALINGA HANDWOVEN AND ANTIQUE COLLECTION
Rose Laed’s work as a researcher for the defunct Presidential Assistance for Cultural Minorities in the late 70s made her fully understand the rich custom and tradition of her native province Kalinga. In 1985, she finally decided to make millions out of what she understood.
FROM ANTIQUE TRADING TO MANUFACTURING
During trips to the Mountain Province, Rose purchased ethnic products handcrafted by local artisans and sold them to her friends in Manila. Realizing the potential market for ethnic and antique crafts, she put up Kalinga Ethnic Handwoven and Antiques with her husband. With P100,000 capitalization, Rose engaged in trading of antique items sourced from towns and villages in the Mountain Province.
Soon after, foreign embassy officials in the Philippines invited her to their cultural trade exhibits. It was during one of these shows that the Center for International Trade Exposition and Missions (CITEM) took notice of her products and invited her to join international trade fairs. When foreign buyers started placing orders, Rose decided to manufacture her own items.
So in 1987, Kalinga Ethnics ventured into manufacturing of handwoven baskets, ikat area rugs, blankets, wood carvings, placemats, rattan baskets and trays, tapestry, even ethnic costumes. It sources indigenous materials like coconut and plant twigs, bamboo, abaca fibers, molave wood, acacia wood, buri midrib, and wicker from the Kalinga province and nearby villages.
LOCAL OUTLETS TO GLOBAL MARKETS
As part of expansion efforts to tap the local market, Kalinga Ethnic opened its distribution outlets in local deparment stores like ShoeMart, Landmark, Rustan’s, and at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati. A year after it opened its first outlet in SM Edsa in 1986, Kalinga Ethnic started exporting its products to foreign markets in Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Africa, and US.
But while the company enjoys loyal patronage in the US and European markets, ethnic product manufacturers from China, Vietnam and Indonesia give it very tight competition.
“In the Ambiente trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, I was surprised to see that many of our local designs have been copied by manufacturers from these countries and they even sold items at a much lower price. In fact, one item which I sell for $15, they sell for $7,” says Rose. “It was difficult for us to compete with the prices because they attend international trade fairs for free, courtesy of their governments, while we have to spend almost a million every time we join international trade shows.”
Despite this, Kalinga Ethnic is able to maintain its export sales volume because foreign buyers prefer the exquisite and intricate designs handcrafted by authentic ethnic carvers and native artisans from Kalinga.
KALINGA ETHNIC TODAY
After more than 15 years, Kalinga Ethnic has established its niche in the local market through its ten outlets in Metro Manila and exports solicited through international trade fairs and foreign distributors. Sixty to 65 per cent of the firm’s products is exported while the remaining 35 to 40 per cent is sold locally through the outlets.
It has a one-storey warehouse building in Lubuagan, Kalinga which is used for storage and initial processing of raw materials which are distributed to about 42 families who do the actual weaving and woodworks. It also has a factory in Tandang Sora, Quezon City that is used as storehouse for products that are ready for shipment locally and abroad. This also provides lodging houses to the 123 regular workers. In Panay, Quezon City, Rose leases a two-unit apartment that serves as administration office and showroom center.
“We regularly join trade shows both here and abroad to market our products and keep ourselves updated with the trends in the market,” says Rose. In fact, for the past two years, she has always been out of the country to personally oversee her booths in the trade fairs in Germany and Los Angeles. She also has distributors in New York and Chicago where the biggest trade shows on toys, gifts and houseware are held.
LOVE FOR ANYTHING ETHNIC
“Ethnic products have always been with us,” Rose remarked. “They are used by our forefathers and now we enjoy them as centerpieces or accents to our modern homes. The market, thus, has always been there.”
Besides Rose’s propensity for handwoven ethnic products, she takes pride in the fact that she is promoting the culture of her province Kalinga and the admirable craftsmanship of its natives, as well as providing sustainable livelihood for them. “I feel happy every time I go back to my province and I see people enjoy weaving or doing woodworks. In fact, many professionals in the province, including nurses and doctors, weave baskets or little items during their spare time in the office. I buy their finished products by piece and I ship them to Manila or abroad,” she explains.
GUTS AND CAPITAL
For Rose, an entrepreneur should have guts and capital to jumpstart a good business. “Don’t be daunted,” she stresses. “If I were afraid in 1985, then I would not have enjoyed the fruits of my enterprise now.”
She does not, however, disregard the effects of a bad economy on her venture. As a matter of fact, Kalinga Ethnic was one of the most badly hit businesses as an after-effect of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. “Our sales was down by more than 20 per cent in both local and exports,” she declares. “We used to set the price for our items, but after the tragedy, we had to succumb to the price requested by buyers. Otherwise, we would lose our business.”
But while many other ethnic manufacturing shops have closed down, Kalinga Ethnic has weathered the economic crisis slowly but surely. In 2001, state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) granted a P2.5 million loan to Rose which she used to “rejuvenate” her business through procurement of more raw materials and equipment. But her wish does not end with the full recovery of her business from the crisis; Rose is determined to go full blast with expansion plans for the next five years, especially in the local consumer market where she believes there is a big “untapped” market for handwoven ethnic products.
“And this takes guts, capital and yes, a lot of hard work,” she stressed.
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