'No, not fast food, but good food served fast'

Lynn Ockersz

'Mr. Chico Texas' is the latest, mega fast food enterprise in the country. American-franchised, glamorous and inviting, the restaurant is a marked presence in the fast developing suburb of Nugegoda.

However, it is not just another fast food business, its owner and veteran businessman Mahinda Ramanayake, Chairman, Jaycey Group of Companies explains in this interview:

Q: Business diversification seems to be a strong point of the Jaycey Group of Companies. Could you describe in brief your evolution since your origins in 1982?

A: The birth of Jaycey Group was with the Incorporation of its Flagship establishment Jaycey Industries Limited 25 years ago on February 12, 1982 with the Registrar of Companies under the Companies Act.

Initially it was engaged in off-set printing of all types of cartons, boxes, leaflets, brochures, posters, etc. Gradually it was developed to a fully fledged printing press having its own Art Work, Colour Separation, Plate Making, Digital Printing, Cutting, Creasing and processing departments catering to printing requirements of the public sector, statutory and private sector organisations.

The company possesses 4-colour and 2-colour Heidelberg printing machines, automatic cutting machines, book binding machines. It has a work force of over 75 employees and today it is know as Jaycey Print Industries (Pvt) Ltd, and is also incorporated with the Registrar of Companies.

Today the companies of the Group are engaged in diversified business activities with international connections.

Our Vision is enhancing the quality of life by being the leading and most diverse, multilocal national group of companies.

For instance, today we have added to our fold Megaway Marketing and Services (Pvt) Ltd, Amrith, the Indian restaurant, 609 Packaging Private Ltd, Sathdina News Publishers, Shaa Cola Beverages, Sogo bottled drinking water - we are pioneers in the bottled water industry - Jaycey Print, Miyura Entertainment, MGM Credit and Investment, GMR Networks, Max Television and Max Radio and now we have broken into the food industry with the Chico Restaurant in Nugegoda or 'Mr. Chico Texas', which operates on the motto: 'Good food, served fast'.

This project got off the ground on January 20.

Through these ventures and others we aim at increasing stakeholder value and in uplifting lives - this is our Mission.

Before launching into business I was a Programme Producer at SLBC. It was my ambition to establish my own media organisations. Sathdina News Publishers and Max Television and Max Radio, for instance, are the results of this ambition.

Q: Are there any special types of programmes which you concentrate on in your media organisations?

A: They have a strong local flavour with the focus being laid on our traditional artistic heritage, 'Nurti Gee', for example. But we also balance it by introducing content which appeals to the younger generation. We try to cater to the people's preferences. We try to bring out good programmes which cater to different tastes and different age groups. But we will try our level best to promote the national culture.

Q: Would you describe your business as being mainly export-oriented?

A: Our bottled water we export in 10 to 15 containers to different countries, such as the Maldives, Britain and Singapore.

We launched our packing industry to help in this effort. For instance, corrugated packing and labelling was launched by us. All this is an in house operation. As a result we do not need to go to other institutions and collect boxes, labels etc. All these are manufactured by us. It is all our own. They are part of the Jaycey Group of companies.

In our Shaa Cola plant we produce different kinds of tastes. For the first time in Sri Lanka we have the Mandarin and Tamarind flavours, for example. The packages in which these products are encased have been produced for the first time in Sri Lanka by us.

Q: Is there enough scope for business in Sri Lanka at the moment?

A: Okay, that's a good question. Sri Lanka is a developing country. There is plenty of red tape and bureaucracy to overcome when we do business. We cannot do business without political support. As a result we cannot develop our business. There are many department, many organisations for the businessmen to deal with. If the Government decides to remove such red tape we will be able to do our businesses peacefully.

We may do everything correctly when we import goods to our country but some personnel in some state institutions demand under-the-counter payments. So corruption is a big problem. Corruption exists in many countries, but in Sri Lanka corruption is very high. On account of this many investors do not like to come to Sri Lanka and in Sri Lanka we do not like to invest.

It is difficult to survive with these rules and regulations in Sri Lanka. Today they would say a 10 percent tax is imposed on goods, tomorrow 15 percent and the day after 20 percent.

Q: Would you say that every time you deal with public sector personnel, corruption becomes a problem?

A: I wouldn't say that every public servant is corrupt. There are some who are corrupt and we cannot work with these people. Corruption has become an obstacle to business.

Q: What made you go in for the 'Mr. Chico Texas' restaurant?

A: We are operating with an American franchise in this restaurant. We deal mainly with fast food, of the Kentucky fried chicken kind. But we operate on a different concept.

There is a different taste and a different marinated system. This is being done for the first time in Sri Lanka by us. We are starting in Nugegoda but we intend doing 10 or 15 outlets in due course.

Q: Do you think there is a good market for fast foods in Sri Lanka?

A: If you provide good, healthy food, the market is always there. If you provide unhygienic foods, people would not accept them. We must build-up a good relationship with our customer.

The customer is the most important factor. We should aim at giving what the customer wants.