-customers actually get to pick what they want

‘Shopping for value’ is  among the new catch phrases  for customers in ‘stiff’ economic times and one young Linden entrepreneur is listening -offering customers the choice of determining their product, quality and price.

Deron Adams

With a mixture of corporate, governmental, residential and non-governmental organizations as clients, Corporate Supplies which is located inside the Region 10 Business Centre on Republic Avenue, Mackenzie, offers clients shopping convenience over the internet.

“They actually get to pick what they want,” says Managing Director Deron Adams. There are no consultation fees and persons have the option of browsing the internet at its offices (with assistance from staff) for a suitable product and price, or they can fax, call-in or visit with their orders.

Adams, a business major, always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but his break came when he was asked to source musical instruments for a church. It was then that he decided to allow his brother Collis Adams in the United States, who is now a business partner, to use his credit card to purchase the instruments over the internet and ship them to Guyana. After this first shipment in 2006, a business was born.

Soon, as word spread, Adams began getting orders for computers, books, stationery and household articles. Corporate Supplies charges a 20% mark-up on the combined cost of shipping and the product.

Clientele
His clients include Omai Gold Mines, several churches, the Guyana Geology and Mines, Linden Economic Advancement Programme and the Region 10 administration. There is a mandatory 50% down-payment before an order is shipped.

He contends that the business is “trying to make every customer feel comfortable with our prices.” To this end Corporate Supplies has gained admittance on the business list of US-based suppliers so that they can benefit from discounts, which he says can then be passed on to customers. City businesses also number among his range of clients and he believes that his price and quality of service is a factor. Shipments are made twice monthly.

Last December Adams signed on with Republic Bank, and customers choosing to buy through the bank can receive a quotation from Corporate Supplies for this purpose.

Adams says it takes “hard work” to make a successful business. His encouragement to prospective young entrepreneurs is “you cannot relax and make money  or use money to do things you ought not to, but rather invest your money in a business venture.”

Among some of the setbacks and challenges he has faced are the  breaching of packages when shipments are in-transit in Trinidad and Tobago and the ongoing threat of credit card fraud. Twice his business has suffered credit card fraud but it was able to recover the sum stolen on one occasion. Sometimes credit card information is given over the phone and there is a chance that persons who gain access to the confidential information can misuse the card. Adams noted that the US authorities are working to curb the package breaches in T&T.

Meanwhile, owing to the current economic crisis,  the business has seen some shortfall in orders while local companies are holding back on purchases, he said, with some companies saying that they will be making orders again in September. Corporate Supplies also operates an outlet on Burnham Drive, Wismar at the El Shaddi Shopping Mall.