#067 The Future of Family Businesses (10/09/2023)

Image: Another initial design draft for a product to be launched next year.

In the past week or two, the company has been discussing some development and future issues, and I would like to record them in this weekly journal.

Some more observant customers may know that Re Pillow is a passion project I founded while studying law and political science at the University of Hong Kong . Although it's a small, self-financing project , initially, I did borrow their space and equipment from a relative who ran a household bedding business to carry out my "pillow project." This is mentioned on the About Page .

A year ago, after I graduated, the family business has always been separate from my Re Pillow Co. business. My Re Pillow Co. is like a small special zone within the family company (Wai Kee (Hong Kong) Limited), taking care of itself and operating independently. I do not interfere with their family business, and they also allow me a lot of freedom to handle my own Re Pillow business.

The economy has indeed been bad lately, especially the retail sector, which has been hit particularly hard. Otherwise, the government wouldn't have needed to launch initiatives like "Hong Kong Nightlife" to stimulate consumption; the situation is truly dire. The company's financial situation is really not ideal, which has caused me considerable distress for the past two weeks. I'm sure my colleagues are well aware of this, seeing me constantly looking so distressed … Although everyone ( Re Pillow and the family business) operates separately, we've all started discussing the future and how to cope with the new economic environment. It seems the economic downturn won't end anytime soon; it'll probably last for several more years. How should Wai Kee proceed?

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this over the past week or two. I stumbled into the family business by accident. It started with my grandfather running a small charcoal and bedding shop in Cheung Sha Wan, and now it's Re Pillow . The family has been in the bedding business for almost 80 years. Although I really joined the family business by accident, now that I'm in it, I naturally want to continue it. Unfortunately, we have a very small market share, and when the economy is bad, we're the first to go out of business. So it's really difficult.

Of course, if it doesn't work out, then we should just give up; there's no point in sacrificing ourselves for the world. But I believe that as long as we make good products, continue doing what I want to do, and do it with passion, there might still be a chance we won't have to give up. As for how to do it, we really need to continue working hard and figuring out the path along the way.