A New Leader in the Pro-Sound and Light Industry: L’Amiga Curaçao

This series sheds light on small and medium sized family businesses that have innovated and grown across generations. The family business model (or lack thereof) is actually proven to be one of the most successful business models that exist. According to Roberto H. Flören, the Head of the Business Faculty at Nyenrode Business University, “In the long term, family businesses are more successful and profitable than non-family businesses.” The reasons for this are their ability to be resilient in the face of crisis and to build strong ties to the community.

TEXT NEELAM MELWANI

IL’Amiga is at first sight a small electronic store located in Heerenstraat in the center of Willemstad. A second branch of the store recently opened at Zuikertuin mall, an indoor shopping mall located in the populous area of Mahaai. Behind the business are a father and son, Doulat (father) and Gautam (son) Chandiramani, who have increased the success of their organization through keeping up with the times and taking calculated risks.

The Beginning
In 1974, based on a suggestion from a friend, Doulat Chandiramani, moved to Curaçao in search of opportunity. He worked for an Indian company on the island for about fifteen years, before venturing out on his own. “I had been working for other people my whole life, and realized that it wasn’t going to keep me happy. I therefore decided to start my own company in 1987.” L’Amiga started as an apparel store with a small electronics section. Doulat Chandiramani explained that clothing was a great place to start building a business – he was able to purchase apparel for a low price at the Freezone in Curaçao itself, and sell it with a quick turnaround, saving up to invest in the business he really wanted: consumer electronics.

“I was always an electronics man,” Doulat Chandiramani explained, “And I knew I wanted to continue in that line of business. Initially, I didn’t have enough to invest in that, but as soon as I did, I started following my dream.”

Growing the Family Business
In 2011, his son, Gautam, joined the family business, and with him came new ideas. Gautam Chandiramani got his Master’s in accounting and worked for PwC for three years in the Netherlands. Gautam grew up in Curaçao, and it had become home. After wrapping up his studies and getting some experience, he was ready to move back home.

Up until 2011, L’Amiga focused on consumer electronics, in one store. Shortly after moving back to Curaçao however, Gautam Chandiramani noticed that there was so much potential in the pro-audio department, a new market that was not as saturated that provided many growth opportunities. By 2012, L’Amiga became a multi-floor store, segregating consumer electronics and pro-audio electronics, a new market segment that had really taken off. In 2016, they opened a second branch in Zuikertuin Mall.

According to Gautam Chandiramani, “What we’ve seen in recent years is a decrease in consumer electronics, and an increase in the pro-audio market. We really needed to diversify our product and change our approach to meet the demands of a changing market.”

Bridging the Generation Gap
According to Doulat Chandiramani, “I never expected that my son would join the family business. I’m so happy he did though – he joined me and we’ve been able to take our business to the next level. Youngsters have new ideas that the previous generation may not have.”

When asked what the one skill was that he needed to be part of the family business, Gautam responded with one word: patience. He explained that often times, when young people have a good idea, they want to role with it right away. “I’m really lucky,” he said, “my father has given me the space to make mistakes. I once ordered a line of professional speakers that stayed on our shelves for two years. Usually, our products have a relatively quick turnover time. I made that mistake once, and I’ll never make it again. The most important part was that I was able to fix it – I managed to move those professional speakers out by finding a creative way to do so.”

According to Doulat Chandiramani, working with his son has been a great experience. “The way I grew my business – it was never easy. I let my son make mistakes, because that’s how he’ll learn… through experience. I’ve had my fair share of experience, and he needs to have that as well. I had no one to guide me, but he can always count on me. We trust each other, and that makes it easy to work together.”

Taking Business to the Next Level
Both father and son agree that L’Amiga has what it takes to be the market leader in the pro-audio industry in Curaçao. Doulat Chandiramani, with a hint of nostalgia, noted that, “The world is changing faster than ever before, and businesses need to change with it.” When it comes to all these changes, resilience and continuity are so important, and that’s what sets L’Amiga apart. “People know us and they know our brand – that’s the best part of living in the same community. Our clients keep coming back,” he added with conviction.

According to Gautam, “Customers naturally flowed from him to me. They didn’t doubt my abilities for a second, because my father had already created a relationship with them. We really focus on our customers; that differentiates us from Amazon. We’re here to help our customers and learn from them.”

While the global economy changes and becomes more interconnected, service remains important. L’Amiga responded to this by not just selling their customers a product, but by becoming more service-oriented: assisting with installations, repairs, and replacements. For Gautam, this also means being more accessible for clients in other market segments and niches, which is how both him and his father justify their new location in Zuikertuin Mall. “Opening a new location was more a marketing move than a sales move – we don’t expect to see a surge in sales, but hope to best serve the needs of our clients from our second location.”

Looking Forward
In moving forward, both father and son agree that they look forward to a revitalized Punda, a city center that is as vibrant and full of life as it once was. According to Doulat, “Punda will never die. It’s been here for so long. We, as business people, need to offer something new and something better to keep people coming to Punda. That’s up to us as much as it is up to others.” The recent developments and activities in Punda are both allowing for people to come back to the colorful-lined streets of downtown Willemstad.

For Gautam, it remains important that L’Amiga continues to innovate and explore. “Our customers are my Wikipedia – that’s how I learned. I’ve done so much research to best learn what my customers need and what’s out there.” Essentially, L’Amiga hopes to one day be able to cater to the pro-sound industry across the supply chain, starting with ordering and ending with repair or re-selling. “Curaçao is different than anywhere else in the world, and our sound equipment needs are therefore very specific. That requires a very specific kind of sound quality – one that we can deliver.”

Reflecting on the Professional Relationship
All in all, it is clear that entrepreneurship is in the family’s blood. As Gautam mentioned, “I like to break my head. That’s part of being an entrepreneur. Nothing in business is rocket science, you just have to apply yourself and find a solution.”

Both father and son agreed that trust was of the essence. There is no set way of working in any family business, it’s a matter of experimenting and seeing what works and having open lines of communication to talk to one another. Gautam mentioned, “It’s a dynamic environment – family businesses do not have a set way of working, and you need to be flexible enough to develop it in any way you want. You decide how your business works, or doesn’t.”

The structure of L’Amiga as a family business has allowed the to be flexible – moving from apparel to consumer electronics to becoming a pro-audio and lighting provider has allowed them to change with the changing market tides.

To close, Gautam said, “Anybody can build a business – if they know what they want to achieve.” In many senses of the world, the future of L’Amiga remains uncertain, and so many factors will determine their success in the pro-audio industry. One thing they can look forward to is the flexbility and resilience that defines their success. That’ll be so important regardless of what happens next.