Mr. Daven Naidu, Managing Director of Yoobee Retail, speaks to the Indian Weekender of his growth, and how adapting and being ready for change has been his key to success.
The beginning of a Journey:
It was a small beginning. I came to New Zealand as a student and I did my Year 13 here. Pretty much like every other student, my life here was a combination of part time work and study.
In the 1980s, while I was doing electronics in computer technology, I started working for Apple as an apprentice. They adjusted my job to my study schedule which helped me grow quite rapidly within my career. I started off, with Apple as an engineer, and then went to work as a tech support specialist. After that, I progressed to the position of a training manager. I started training Apple’s reseller technicians, authorising them to become certified technicians. Currently, I might be the only Apple engineer in NZ who has worked with Apple systems at the component level.
I then became the service manager for a company called CDL systems. Over there I had about 10 presale and post-sale engineers reporting to me, along with a number of corporate clients, as all of their head offices in New Zealand, itself.
In 1994, I bought a small company based in Orewa, called Logical Systems. After that I acquired Apple accreditations, which is getting Apple authorisation with serviceman support. I then went on to open up a branch in Takapuna; then we moved to Ponsonby in 2000, as our business grew. By then I had employed 20 people.
In 2004, with a number of changes in Apple policies, the industry changed too. But, I got the opportunity to become an Apple reseller for all of Fiji. Besides that, we also had our own premises in Eden Terrace in 2003.
It is 10 years later, and I have now acquired Youbee, the only authorised Apple flagship store in New Zealand. Including Fiji, we have 7 stores now. Main centres in Auckland, New Market, Manor Street, Base in Hamilton, Riccarton mall and Blenheim Road in Christchurch. So we have taken over all the Youbee stores in New Zealand. And considering, that there aren’t any other resellers, we don’t have any competition.
We are calling you the Apple man of New Zealand, clearly because you are the biggest supplier of Apple products in the country, not only that, as you have said, you are the only Apple engineer left in the country. You have now been the Apple man of New Zealand for 20 years; so, holding on to the philosophy “Be ready to change”, how did you work your way around it and grow within your channels?
I mentioned external environments affecting your business; in New Zealand, in the early days, distributors would make certain changes that would greatly affect a business. It would not have been possible for me to grow to this extent in the past due to certain difficulties.
In the past I had to reduce the size of my business, because of difficulties with the suppliers; but I could overcome that because I had my technical knowledge on my side. I will always have my technical abilities, which can never be replaced.
And because of the demise of renaissance, the right opportunity came about for us to grow. So, I guess the right opportunity came about at the right time.
What is your strategy going forward?
Our strategy is to stay focused and to keep the brand in the forefront and use our retail side of the business to develop our B2B. We have 50+ staff, full time part time weekend staff. We are a mid-sized business now.
So our strategy is to integrate the specialist and the retail side, which is the front end of the business, so we can start looking after larger organisations, where they deploy Apple systems, and subsequently get them to make use of our resources and skills.
I think it is too early to say whether or not we will open up more stores, but the focus for now is corporate clients. The keyword here is integration.
Story of migrant success:
Although I’ve spent a huge amount of my life in New Zealand and not Fiji, and I consider myself a Kiwi, I understand that we are a minority here, so I do the best that I can to help the Indian community here and in Fiji. We are just trying to create a good example for the younger generation.
Tell us a little bit about the Friends for Fiji Health Charity:
Friends of Fiji Health, which started almost 3 years back, is a charitable organisation made up of about six doctors – all specialists, a few businessman like myself, one politician Dr Rajindra Prasad, and Ex-Governor general, our patron, Sir Anand Satyanand.
Basically, what we do is, we take medical missions to Fiji free of cost. We provide medical care to the less fortunate in Fiji, at no cost at all. All the costs are covered by the trustees of the charity. Apart from that, we fund our meetings here, in Auckland, ourselves; nothing comes out of the charity fund.
In a nutshell, for every dollar that we collect, we deliver $18 worth of services, unlike other charities, where they deliver 30% if the dollar collected. The whole purpose is to give back to the community where we came from.
What about the personal side of Mr Daven Naidu:
I am a keen sportsman. In the past, I have played hockey, at a premier level, for New Zealand Indians and New Zealand Masters. Apart from that I am a keen Golfer. I even won the Indian golfer of the year, about two years back.
I also used to play squash; playing sports has always helped me deal with any frustrations and work related tensions. These days, sadly, I don’t get time, with work and my MBA.
What would you suggest to budding entrepreneurs?
Well you have got to take a certain amount of calculated risk, take that leap, and you basically just stay at it.
The quality of being an entrepreneur is, I believe, something that you have or you don’t; but the key is to work hard. Do the right thing, get things done, and the money aspect will fall in to place.
I would though give one piece of advice; don’t let your ego come in the way. Always be ready to change; if tomorrow things don’t turn out the way I want them to, I should be ready to face the situation.
Especially, with the IT industry, things are constantly changing; you’ve got to be switched on. You have to anticipate and know the industry well.
Nobody could have predicted the recent economic downturn; a lot of people, who were unwilling to change, suffered. The ones, who were willing, progressed. That is exactly what we did; waited for the correct opportunity to take the next step.
Now, our confidence in the market is, I would say, positive…There are a number of factors that effect a business; you have to make sure that you are ready to counter those and be ready to change.
Personally for me, I have never run after money. I believe that, you have to get your priorities right. You have to set your goals and targets; do the right thing, and money will follow. You need to have the right knowledge and experience and work hard, always give it your 100%.
If you can’t give it your all, don’t do it. I have always done that, with my work, with sports. You have to be prepared to work hard and be dedicated.
You have to be committed to whatever you want to do.
Then how do you cut out the fear of failing?
Why should you have such a fear? If you fear failing, you cannot move ahead. Regardless of whatever happens, you will always have yourself and your life, you will find ways to move your way out of a fix.
Especially, when you know what you have to do, you’re focused; you just work hard, without cutting corners. You will always face hurdles on your way up the ladder, but that shouldn’t stop you from achieving what you want. Get your basics right, follow your professional ethics and never have the fear of failure.
I don’t believe in luck; it’s just hard work.