Cover Story
Striving To Be The Best
Willie Tan On What's Ahead
Willie Tan can be hard to track down. These days, he spends most of his time traveling, usually from his family's base in Hong Kong, sometimes from his second home base on Saipan. Almost all of that travel is for business. But he recently took some time to tell Pacific Magazine about himself, the Northern Marianas and the vision he has for his company and the Pacific Islands in the future. Here is the longer version of our interview with Tan.
Pacific Magazine: Tell us about your upbringing, and the role your family played in developing your business skills.
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Willie Tan: I was born in Manila and grew up in one of the poorest districts of the city with my grandfather, who died when I was 6. I spent most of my early childhood years in a boarding school in Manila. I earned extra school money by selling ice drops, leftover fish from the vendors who harvest the catch of the day from the fishermen of Navotas, Manila. My parents were able to arrange for me to join the family in Guam when I was 12. My father is a Chinese businessman, Tan Siu Lin, and my mother is Lam Pek Kim.
My family started a small trading business and we struggled to build it together. My father guided me in how to be an entrepreneur and I used those skills to build a successful business from basically very little. I believe in working hard and my family and I have built a strong work ethic into our company. We've hired top executives to create a global business. We provide the best worker care program for our employees and that has enabled us to build a strong and successful team. We still think like entrepreneurs even though we're now a large company, especially by island standards.
PM: Given the fact that your family empire stretches deep into Asia, what is your fascination with smaller markets such as Guam and Saipan?
WT: After moving to the island in 1973, I grew up in Guam. I went to college at University of Guam. I love the island environment. The air is clean. The scenery is beautiful. The people here are generally very warm and there's a small-town friendliness, even though these islands are a place where international businesspeople come together. I enjoy going out and running into friends wherever I go. This is part of why I decided to grow our business in the region rather than in Asia. I love being here, and doing more business has made sense.
PM:How actively involved do you get in local politics? You appeared to become very involved in the last gubernatorial campaign on Saipan (the candidate he backed lost to Juan Babauta, the Republican candidate).
WT: People always assume that I am more involved than I really am. Actually, it is (a) natural and I think wise business practice for any large company to work in partnership with local governments. It is common in the U.S. and these islands are no different. Now with the bad economy, it is even more important that there is good communication. The government tends to see what is happening in an economy on a delayed basis. We're on the front line and can see changes coming. The best scenario is if we share information and trust one another.
Yes, I have had friends in the past that have run for office. They made their own decisions and we never asked for nor needed any special favors. It happened in the last election that a very talented candidate was a former executive of our company for more than 10 years. Of course we believed in him because we knew him so well.
We are not currently involved in politics and don't plan to be involved in any elections in the future. We do business all over the world and can't be too distracted from our core businesses. We will work with whoever is in office.
PM:What are your goals, personal and business, or the second half of your life?
WT: Everyday, any kind of business is redefined by trends in technology, management style, (and) legislation and trade agreements. We have to know how we can cope, if not grow and be ahead of these change factors. I have to be the driver of change in our company. I have to be proactive in looking-out-of-the-box, then thinking-out-of-the-box and getting new ideas out to our team.
For our apparel business, my vision is to be recognized as the best in the world. We began this business in Saipan 20 years ago and are now in five countries, manufacturing world-class brands. I hope Saipan can continue to remain competitive against foreign markets as world trade opens. I will do my part in this effort.
Employee care is something that is very important to me. We have to keep improving ways of taking care of our best asset. We are constantly striving to earn various certifications and affiliations with labor departments of different governments, not just here in Saipan but in all countries where we do business. I'm very proud of how well our team has done at this.
My other goal in the Pacific region is to expand our hotel business and create a really fantastic experience for our guests. I also want to grow our air cargo business, Asia Pacific Airlines, as an important regional carrier.
PM:Give us your assessment for future prospects in the region, short-, medium- and long-term? Where are the major growth areas? What are the greatest challenges to growing a significant business in the region?
WT: In the short term, Guam and Saipan are facing the same tough challenges. Somehow, in my opinion, these islands did not prepare adequately to compete in the global market. Maybe it was because of the easy success islands like Saipan had in the late 1980s. Tourism took off like a shot with little effort. Today we have to work very hard at it. For example tourism we need to make sure that we can compete in the region against attractive destinations like Thailand, Bali, resorts in Malaysia, Hawaii. In my view, the government, private sector and airlines should work as partners to bring in more tourists. Partnership is the key.
For Saipan's apparel industry, somehow the [CNMI] government does not seem to yet understand the pressures of global competition and the real value of the industry to the islands. The revenue is vital to the local economy and many jobs in the community depend on it. As a company, we are trying very hard to be efficient, to build top quality into our apparel, and to make sure we provide all the value-added services that our customers want. At the same time we've invested a lot in providing the best employee care. We also consider ourselves a good corporate citizen and do much in the community. But if Saipan continues to increase the costs of doing business, the garment industry may disappear very soon.
For long-term growth the market is quite unpredictable at this time. Unless a partnership can be developed among the government and private sector, I'm sorry to say that the outlook will not be good. The government should provide a good, stable investment atmosphere with tax incentives, one-stop-shop for permits, reduced political interference in business, etc.
PM:How do those prospects compare to markets in Asia, and elsewhere? Bottom line: why invest in the Pacific region?
WT: The truth: in today's environment, to invest in the Pacific region is not as attractive as it could be. The market is small. The good old days are gone, and definitely we are going to have a difficult time for a while. These economies have been hammered by world events just like anywhere else, but perhaps worse in some cases because island economies are more "captive." The islands must think and act globally competitive in order to rebuild….
In terms of other industries and what it means to be business friendly, these island economies should learn from their bigger, more successful neighbors like Singapore and Hong Kong. There are more similarities than one might think. Look at the top ranked investment destinations around the world. All the information is easily available on the Internet. The best advice I can give is learn how to learn. Our ideas are limited to what we know, but being on an island shouldn't limit us. With drive and vision, we can get to where we want to be.
