CHENNAI: The world of entrepreneurship is that of gorges and quicksand; especially one as dynamic as the technology sector. But, when you find that rare place — the Goldilocks zone that is the perfect amalgamation of timing, intuition, hard work, quality service and luck — you make it and you make it big. Straddling the line between competition from big-name brands and the cut-throat monopoly on online enterprises, Mercy Electronics has been scripting its own success story; one branch at a time. Three decades since its inception, the name is still synonymous with all electronic services for many people in the city.
When Edward Kennedy Mercy set up the first store in Vadapalani in 1980, its ambitions were quite humble. It was yet another electricals shop that catered to residents’ basic household needs. It took plenty of work and six years to convert the store into an electronics shop. And that’s when things started to take off. “We just made sure that we had the products that people would require. In those days, this meant parts for radios and tape recorders. This slowly moved to televisions — first the black and white, and then colour,” he recounts.
Growing slowly
While the transition from electricals to electronics had been quite a learning curve, it took much more effort to sustain this growth and build it into the 15-store chain that it is today. The journey to the second store and the ones that followed was made possible because of their team of skilled staff, points out Kennedy. “We need staff who are technically skilled. If I were to train them, they should be able to stay with us on the journey. That doesn’t come easy. The training itself would take six months; beyond that, some worker might stay only for two or three more. That was a big reason that our development has been slow and paced. We have to take one step at a time. Open one store and equip it with staff who can run it independently. This process can take a year; only then can we move on to the next store,” he narrates.
While finding skilled technicians for the job had been difficult enough when Kennedy started out, it has only gotten more so over the years, it seems. They are having to rely on people (mostly those who had to drop out of school), who have almost no other options by means of a career. “We slowly train them with the help of our senior staff and prepare them for the job. Of the 50-odd people, we might train in a year, barely five stick with us beyond the process.
Despite the hardships of the business, the years spent thriving in it has not been without ample excitement. Running an electronics store meant Kennedy and team had front-row seats to the fast-paced development of the entire sector. They had to stay on top of their game, especially given the growing competition around them, and didn’t come by slacking and taking it as it comes. “Changes have been constant. The transition from radio to tape recorder had been slow; after that, the move to CD and DVD players was quick. It took a while for the colour TV to evolve from the black-and-white one, but the growth from there to the latest offerings in LCD, LED and more has been incredibly fast. From the phones and gadgets to every electronic product you use in the house, you see how much change there is on an everyday basis. You buy a product today, thinking it’s the latest, but a week later, there’s a newer product in the market. We’ve kept ourselves constantly updated — from what’s new in the market, to what seems to be the general preferences. This, for products across the board,” he explains.
Loyal patrons
At a time when most things have been made available to us with just a touch of the screen, that many people continue to remain patrons of this flesh-and-blood store is success in its own right. To that, Kennedy credits god above all else. “Some call it luck, some call it timing, I call it god. Only after that comes our talent. There are many more talented people around us; so I would say it is because of god. The one thing that has remained constant in our stores is the sentiment that customers have for it (the shop). There are people who come all the way from Poonamallee just to purchase from us. Even amid all the competition and online stores, there is still the belief that they won’t be cheated here or overcharged for the service here. That is why customers keep coming back to us, even when they think they don’t always find what they want,” offers Kennedy.
This is one reason the chain has managed to bounce back from the lockdown-induced hiatus. While many other businesses suffered past the initial days of complete lockdown, Mercy Electronics has been doing pretty well since then. For once you get past the essentials, it is electronics that people need; especially now that more people’s lives are entwined with online classes and work-from-home arrangements, he points out.
Going forward, where online business is only going to be a bigger competition to store like Mercy Electronics, there’s much to be done to stay in the game. But Kennedy has much heart in the business staying steady on its path. While youngsters might take their time to come around, there will be people who wouldn’t mind taking the time to visit stores and see what’s best for them. And that’s enough, he says.