Yang: Climbing the economic ladder

When she was being interviewed, Suntinday Merchandise owner Li-King Yang – extremely pleasant and soft-spoken – wanted to speak more of her trade rather than her business achievements, a trait that is unquestionably businessman, Chinese style.

Raised in the commercial district of Guangzhou in China, the 36-year-old Yang came to Saipan in 1986 to work as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant along Beach Road. Today, Li-King is her own employer, managing the gift shop located on the same road, that offers an array of products at – no gimmick – reasonably low prices.

At the store, one will find hip-looking sunglasses for $3, an elegant pair of formal pants for $12, and a classy number-locked baggage bag for less than $24.

Yang is braving the economic turmoil as she opened her Suntinday store last December, optimistic that the business would get through the obstacle that many establishments are now facing.

Her target was to eventually get a big market share on Saipan by contending herself with a low profit margin, so that she can sell her products at competitively low cost.

“I think no matter how bad the economy is, you still need to eat; you need shelter,” she said.

Yang emphasized that her products are simple, not decorative, but certainly has good quality and are reasonably priced.

“We sell unique merchandise. They’re not expensive — simple shirt, jeans, pants and not the famous brands. I try to bring in good quality items at very reasonable prices,” she guaranteed. “If you come to the store, it would not cost too much.”

With barely four months of running the business, Yang said her sales have been increasing.

“That means the strategy of running the business is right. Profit margin is low, but I want to get a bigger share of the market,” she added.

Married to interior contractor Lam Wu, she came to Saipan to follow her husband who came to the island first. She spent three years working as a cook and a waitress at a restaurant and in 1989, using her savings and a loan from her mother as initial capital, she made a shift in career to become a businessman.

“After the restaurant, I started to do business with other friends,” she said. “[We established a] gift shop business. That’s the time when tourists are coming in. We do the business for the tourists.”

She then shifted to a hardware store, a business related to her husband’s profession.

Suntinday’s products are mainly from China. Aby Kwong On Leung, a business associate of Yang, said that coming from a commercial district of Guangzhou gives her friend an advantage in sourcing her merchandise.

“Their hometown is from Guangzhou province. She got so many friends, relatives, so it’s very easy for her to source very good merchandise to bring to the island,” Leung said.

Leung said her friend’s business connections enable her to deal with the factories directly, avoiding middlemen and eventually getting the merchandise at low cost.

Yang manages the gift shop with the help of her husband. As such, she herself acts as the saleslady. At one time, she was seen by the Saipan Tribune mopping the floor, while she was already dressed in a floral blouse for a photo shoot.

Rather than relishing the status of her success, Yang, displaying hard work and humility, said the she wants to cut costs further, so that she can sell her products at more affordable prices.