Harilela's Profile
Hari Harilela got his first taste of work hawking
on the streets of Hong Kong at the age of 10. Today,
at 77, he's as active as ever overseeing the family's
global billion-dollar hotel, banking and real estate
empire.
The Harilelas' rags-to-riches story began in 1922,
when Hari's father, Naroomal Harilela, left his hometown
of Hyderabad, Sind (now Pakistan) and journeyed to
Canton in search of his fortune.
He set up a small shop and flourished on the West's
fascination with the Orient, exporting a steady stream
of Chinese antiques, jade and other curios around
the world. Business was booming. Eight years after
arriving in Canton, he was able to send for his wife,
Devibai, and three sons -- George, Hari and Peter
-- to join him.
They arrived as the Great Depression of the 1930s
began devastating commerce around the world. Naroomal's
business was among the casualties.
"He lost his fortune because the bills were
always on D/A," Hari said. "He didn't want
to sue anyone because he said they were good friends
of his that he'd been dealing with for years."
Broke, Naroomal decided to come to Hong Kong and
start over. He planned to work out of the small office
he'd set up to handle his exports from China. Upon
hearing that Naroomal was on his way to Hong Kong,
his brother, who ran the business, took off with everything.
"We went into extreme poverty. We couldn't find
a means to live. My father couldn't even afford the
school fees, although they were only HK$3 at that
time," Hari (right) recollected.
Naroomal managed to get some goods on consignment
from factories and went to hawk outside the British
army barracks selling shorts, soap, razor blades and
daily essentials.
For months, the family sat under the scorching sun
eking out a living. Luck started to turn for the Harilelas
when one of the officers took pity on them and allowed
them to hawk their wares inside the grounds. "Business
then began to pick up," Hari said.
In the three years that the Harilelas hawked, the
family had managed to save enough money open a small
shop at 153 Prince Edward Road in 1937.
But the venture soon collapsed. Never one to accept
defeat, Naroomal returned to hawking at the barracks.
Within a year, he had managed to save enough money
to open another shop in Mongkok at 733 Nathan Road.
"From there on we started getting more and more
business. Meanwhile, my two brothers and I -- the
elder and younger -- went to work with Indian companies
to help support the family," Hari said.
George and Peter worked for retail companies, while
Hari, who was 13 at the time, went to work in a trading
company. Fate seemed to be on their side for a few
years and their business grew along side their family
with the arrival of their fifth brother Gary, and
a sister, Rani.
The winds of war
The winds of misfortune blew again in 1941 with the
outbreak of World War II. The family again lost everything
they had. They moved like many other Indian families
at the time into Tsim Sha Tsui as the Japanese overran
the territory, and were given shelter in the Sawlani
Silk Store.
Once the Japanese army had taken control of Hong
Kong, civilians were again allowed to move around.
A good friend of the family let them use his shop
on Hankow Road, and the family earned a modest living.
Life was harsh under Japanese, but the family stuck
together and survived, but not before Naroomal was
almost beaten to death after being dragged from his
home in the middle of the night by the Japanese secret
service. He came out of the war with his life, but
the incident left him bed-ridden and he never really
recovered from the beating. He died in May 1948.
Hong Kong welcomed the return of the British forces
in 1945, and the Harilela brothers again eked out
a living hawking to them.
"At that time the British had no money so they
used to ask us what we would like in return for the
foodstuff we supplied them," said Hari. "They
used to take us to the Kowloon Godown, open the warehouses
and tell us to take what we wanted."
Hari recollected that the warehouses were packed
with Red Cross mercy packages that the Japanese had
hoarded. But the Harilelas only took one to two cases
of scotch and about 20 cartons of cigarettes.
"They were very surprised that we always took
so little. But my father always used to say: 'make
whatever profit you want, but don't be greedy and
don't cheat," he said.
Rather than missing the chance to make more, the
Harilelas business integrity made them their fortune.
Impressed by their honesty, the army appointed the
Harilelas as their main supplier. They also did their
laundry, as well as made uniforms from cloth the army
supplied.
They continued working out of their small shop on
Hankow Road, and before long opened a shop in Kowloon
Hotel.
With the arrival of more British and Commonwealth
troops, the Harilela's found themselves importing
more and more cloth to meet demand. The family opened
another store and soon became the largest importer
of British textiles in Hong Kong. The brothers were
importing so much cloth, that Princess Margaret and
Lord Snowdon made a royal visit to the shop during
their first trip to the territory.
While peace had returned to Hong Kong, the U.S. Armed
Forces were fighting in Chingchow and asked the British
to give them a reliable supplier for their PX (post
exchange) stores for their troops. This marked the
rapid rise of the Harilela empire.
After supplying the PX stores for a year, the U.S.
Army audited the brothers' accounts. They found that
the Harilelas' profits were the lowest of all their
suppliers.
"I think they were impressed by our honesty,
because the U.S. Army gave us open stores to look
after," Hari said. "From 1948 until the
end of the Vietnam War, we had almost 35 stores in
the U.S. Armed Forces' camps in the region, from Okinawa
to Saigon. That is how business grew to be an enormous
business. We used to make 600 custom suits a day and
we had 900 tailors working for us."
In the late ¡¥60s, seeing the U.S. forces
were reducing their presence in the region, Hari suggested
to his brothers that they diversify into other lines
of business.
"Although my brothers were against me because
real estate or other businesses meant very small profits,
I kept on diversifying and I'm glad that I did,"
he said.
The brothers entered the local retail business and
opened a Best Ladies' and a Best Men's retail store.
But business was slow. The brothers then began to
dabble in the real estate and hotel business.
"My first hotel was in 1960-61, the Imperial
Hotel on Nathan Road. Then we bought this big plot
on Mody Road and Nathan Road where the Holiday Inn
Golden Mile now stands," Hari said.
Construction of the Holiday Inn began at the end
of 1969, but riots in Hong Kong caused a crash in
the local property and tourism market, and halted
its construction as jittery investors were having
second thoughts.
The brothers were forced to sell the Imperial Hotel
and other assets to buy out investors and to fund
construction of their new hotel. On November 12, 1975,
the doors of the Harilelas' wholly-owned Holiday Inn
Golden Mile opened for business.
But there were no celebrations at the opening. Their
mother, Devibai, died on the day of the grand opening.
To represent the family at the opening, Hari sent
his 4-year-old son Aron to the hotel.
Despite a less than fortuitous start, the Harilelas'
wholly owned Holiday Inn Golden Mile earned the family
its major fortune and enabled the brothers to buy
back the Imperial Hotel.
The family continues to invest in hotels overseas
and is on the verge of becoming a global hotelier.
With luxury hotels in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok,
London, Penang, Montreal and its latest edition in
Sydney run by the Sheraton Group, which opens in June
this year, Hari said his next targets are New York
and Paris.
"It is one of the good industries. People like
to travel more and more," he said.
Family ties
Amazingly, the Harilela empire is still a family
run business. Each brother overseas a specific arm
of the business -- hotels, real estate, restaurants,
travel agencies, seats on the Stock Exchange.
Just as surprisingly, the family lives under one
roof. Sixty family members spanning four generations
live in their 40-bedroom apartment on Waterloo Road.
"We have a very strong temple in our home which
binds us together," Hari said.
While Hari has toiled to build the family business,
he has worked equally hard doing community work, and
received an OBE in 1969 in recognition of his contribution
to society.
"I was in most civic associations. I sincerely
believe one thing that is very important in one's
life is that if you do all the work for yourself you
are very selfish. Hong Kong has given us a lot that
we are grateful for. We must give back not by giving
money, but by getting involved in the community,"
he said.
At 77, Hari radiates a boyish enthusiasm when talking
about the company's business plans. But he says he
is now trying to remain in the background to push
the young generation ahead.
"I believe that the young generation always
has something to say. And I will always remember one
thing that my son said to me, 'If you have a hotel
in London, one in Paris and one in Sydney then the
Harilela Group as a group, has a much wider exposure',"
he said.
The family is also increasing its exposure by diversifying
its line of business with the recent establishment
of the East Bank in New York, and two banks in California.
"But our major business is hotels. I'd like
to see two more hotels open: one in New York and one
in Paris. Once our hotel in Sydney opens in June,
then my son is going to focus on these two,"
he said.