Hong Kong was a favorite destination for many of the students on our trip to China.  It is a beautiful city nestled between and around the mountains and the sea, and it bustles with life both night and day.  But our company visits in Hong Kong really set it apart from the rest of the trip.

My favorite company visit was to Grand Union Trading Co.  You probably haven’t heard of it, and that’s okay with managing director Anthony Sim.  His company exists to manufacture high quality outdoor gear for the world’s best brands such as Patagonia, Outdoor Research, Kelty, Rab, and others.  Grand Union’s own brand is built on a reputation of quality and responsibility known best among the high performance outdoor gear retailers.  Those who need to know about Grand Union do; and we just so happened to have one of those folks accompanying us on this trip.  We were treated to an insider’s view of the outdoor clothing world by Lundquist College’s Avamere Professor of Practice and former CEO of Patagonia and Kelty, Michael Crooke (MC), and his friend at Grand Union, Anthony Sim.

Avamere Professor of Practice Michael Crooke introducing Grand Union Trading Co. Managing Director Anthony Sim.

MC’s connection with Anthony allowed us to learn about the nuances of doing business in China, what traits Anthony looks for in employees, advice on negotiating, and emphasis on sustainable, responsible growth.  We learned that it is important to satisfy the needs of your business partners so they have no reason to leave you for someone else, that a long view of business strategy through responsible company growth is much more healthy than emphasis on quarterly profit, and that above all else, cash flow is key.

We were very fortunate to have such personal attention from and interaction with MC on this trip.  Very few MBA programs get exposure to business environments from such seasoned professionals.

Hong Kong skyline photo by David Iliff, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hong_Kong_Skyline_Restitch_-_Dec_2007.jpg

Written by Eric Ringer

Eric is an MBA Candidate in the Center for Sustainable Business Practices. He came to the Oregon MBA program from his old Kentucky home to supplement his technical experience in engineering with valuable business skills. He intends to help businesses build competency in decision making processes and business operations through the lens of the triple bottom line: people, profit, planet.