Ventures that seem to defy hard times

By John Njiraini

In the past few months, a state of uncertainty has hit many enterprises as global economic crisis and the high cost of living continues to wreak havoc.

Big and small companies have been forced to review their operations and strategies to remain in the market.

Numerous measures, among them laying off employees, scaling down production and halting unnecessary expenses, have taken over as survival replaces quest for profitability.

But as most enterprises are worried on how to remain afloat in the turbulent economic environment, for others it’s business as usual. In some cases the economic meltdown has given room for more profitability.

coffin sales

Funeral services providers are among businesses thriving in the current slump.

According to Mr James Muchemi, a coffin and hearse dealer at Kamukunji, Nairobi, the past few months have seen a phenomenal increase in coffin sales.

"Death is usually tragic, but for us business is good," he told ‘Shillings and Sense’, adding that in the past four months, he has been selling on average of five high-end and 10 ‘normal’ coffins daily.

The high-end coffins, whose price ranges from Sh70,000 to Sh300,000, are the spectacular final resting place for the rich and the middle class.

For Muchemi, who provides a the whole range of funeral services from selling coffins, flowers and providing a hearse for transportation, the number of deaths seems to have shot up because even his rivals in the industry are talking of booming business.

According to Mr Mwangi Wanjumbi, a management and entrepreneurship trainer and strategist, the erratic economic environment could be exacting a psychological toll on individuals and in effect pushing them to depression and even suicide.

"Some people must be finding it hard to adjust from a situation where they were well off and now have to struggle," he said.

Though the number of suicides occasioned by difficult economic times are hard to quantify, the rise in coffins demand could be related to people falling from having to not having.

Apart from coffin dealers, auctioneers are also experiencing an increase in demand of their services.

With most individuals and enterprises unable to repay their loans, auctioneers have a field day confiscating and auctioning assets to recover loans for banks and earning handsome commissions.

The only downside in the business, according to an auctioneer, is that the value for goods has come down as few people are willing to buy them, meaning they have to earn reduced commissions because they are tied to prices. The flipside is, however, compensated by the high demand for auctioneering services.

Boom business

Away from the businesses that thrive on the sorrows and predicaments of others, cobblers are also recording booming business as people decided to survive on the same pairs of

shoes to save money.

According to Willis Omondi, a cobbler at Ngara Market, the number of shoes he repairs a week have increased significantly.

For instance, as schools open for second term this week, many parents are taking their children’s shoes for repair instead of buying new pairs as has been the tradition in the past.

"Last week I repaired more shoes for students than any other time I can recall," he said.

Though Omondi does not understand the economics of recession. "One might dismiss the trade of these people but the fact is that they are benefiting in this recession," said Wanjumbi.