You will hear a radio interview between a journalist and the chairwoman of a

23
Man: Good evening and welcome to another edition of Business Days. Tonight we are going to talk to someone who says that staring at other people’s shoes is all part of a working day. Welcome Jean Chepal, chairwoman of Chepals, the maker of internationally famous shoes. Good evening!
Woman: Good evening!
Man: Jean, you are the chairwoman of a multimillion-pounds of business. Do you really spend your time looking at people’s shoes?
Woman: Oh, yes. Just because a person is running a company, it doesn’t mean they should, in fact, it’s essential that they remember what the company does, what it’s for.
Man: So you...
Woman: I find it fascinating. On the underground, for example, to look at people’s shoes, it tells you a lot about them and what’s going on in my business.
Man: A form of market research?
Woman: The best kind of market research.
Man: Has this practical approach always been part of the Chepal’s management style?
Woman: Yes. I hope we’ve never forgotten how we started.
24
Man: Which was when?
Woman: In 1970. The company was founded by three people. I have been the granddaughter and one of them and the grandniece of another: and now my son is in the business. He is thirty.
Man: A real family firm. Woman: Yes, indeed.
25
Man: And do you think members of your family are treated more favourably than other people?
Woman: Oh, we have no time for that kind of thing. While the family retains the substantial holding in the company, this is still a public company. In fact, we went public fourteen years ago. People are judged on merit. You cannot be as successful as we have been by having favourites.
Man: Is it inevitable that... ?
Woman: Well, before any family member joins the firm, they must prove themselves outside of it. They must have worked elsewhere.
26
Man: I see.
Woman: Look at my own case, for example. I’ve been chairwoman now for five years. I grew up in the business. My mother used to work for our biggest competitor before she got married. And my father, of course, was already chairman of the Chepals when I was born. He did not consider it automatic that I would follow him. But when I was offered a place at Cambridge to study economics, he insisted that I did some sort of vocational training instead.
Man: So you were trained as a lawyer, I believe.
Woman: No, as an accountant.
Man: A good training for industrial career?
Woman: Yes. I worked for an insurance company before joining the Chepals.
Man: And you have been assisting your son to have done the same, I believe?
Woman: Ah, he was an export manager with a car company for some time.
Man: A good experience.
Woman: He has increased our exports to 70% of our output. Germany, France and U. S. are three of our biggest... well, in fact, our main markets.
Man: The French like the English shoes?
Woman: Of course. At the quality end of the market a foreign label gave that added value.
27
Man: How many shoes do you, eh, make?
Woman: Like export in a week?
Man: For example.
Woman: 8,000 pairs. They sell from ￡ 50 to ￡250 a pair. It’s the latter end of the price range that is the biggest in export terms. Man: Really?
Woman: The name of Chepal still commands a premium.
Man: And you are obviously doing well.
Woman: Half-year profits were up to 23% to ￡1.5 million and the turnover was ￡36.8 million compared to ￡1.2 million last year.
Man: That’s very impressive.
28
Woman: But we are not complacent. It’s not an easy trade with the flood of imports. Cheap imports have devastated what was once a mighty industry.
Man: What’s the extent... ?
Woman: There is an import penetration of 80%. Four out of five shoes sold here are imported.
Man: That seemed incredible!
Woman: Hundreds of companies are vanished, but we are still at the top.
Man: What has been your strategy?
Woman: We avoid the clash with cheap importers. We stick to our up market niche. And ironically, we export to the country which has destroyed the flooded markets with cheap imports.
Man: Oh?
Woman: Yes, they make money and want to spend it on quality.
Man: Eh. There is always a market for excellence.
Woman: Yes. Quality relies on skill. Low labour cost concern can make shoes cheaper. What they cannot do is make quality shoes better than we can.
Man: What is your main concern about the future?
Woman: Unfair trading.
29
Woman: ... Some countries put an import duty of 20% on our shoes whereas we carry an 8% duty. Twenty years ago 120,000 people worked in the shoe industry in this country. Now it’s 28,000 and falling. In areas where half the population worked in the business, it’s now only 5%. This is wrong.
Man: Yes, that doesn’t sound fair.
Woman: It isn’t.
30
Man: But you feel confident that you can fight the challenge?
Woman: Oh, yes. We’ll do well through quality and exporting...
Man: I hope so. Then I wish you every success in the future. Thank you, Mrs. Jean Chepal.
Woman: Thank you!
Man: Good evening and welcome to another edition of Business Days. Tonight we are going to talk to someone who says that staring at other people’s shoes is all part of a working day. Welcome Jean Chepal, chairwoman of Chepals, the maker of internationally famous shoes. Good evening! Woman: Good evening!
Man: Jean, you are the chairwoman of a multimillion-pounds of business. Do you really spend your time looking at people’s shoes?
Woman: Oh, yes. Just because a person is running a company, it doesn’t mean they should, in fact, it’s essential that they remember what the company does, what it’s for.
Man: So you...
Woman: I find it fascinating. On the underground, for example, to look at people’s shoes, it tells you a lot about them and what’s going on in my business.
Man: A form of market research?
Woman: The best kind of market research.
Man: Has this practical approach always been part of the Chepal’s management style?
Woman: Yes. I hope we’ve never forgotten how we started.
Man: Which was when?
Woman: In 1970. The company was founded by three people. I have been the granddaughter and one of them and the grandniece of another: and now my son is in the business. He is thirty.
Man: A real family firm.
Woman: Yes, indeed.
Man: And do you think members of your family are treated more favourably than other people?
Woman: Oh, we have no time for that kind of thing. While the family retains the substantial holding in the company, this is still a public company. In fact, we went public fourteen years ago. People are judged on merit. You cannot be as successful as we have been by having favourites.
Man: Is it inevitable that... ?
Woman: Well, before any family member joins the firm, they must prove themselves outside of it. They must have worked elsewhere.
Man: I see.
Woman: Look at my own case, for example. I’ve been chairwoman now for five years. I grew up in the business. My mother used to work for our biggest competitor before she got married. And my father, of course, was already chairman of the Chepals when I was born. He did not consider it automatic that I would follow him. But when I was offered a place at Cambridge to study economics, he insisted that I did some sort of vocational training instead.
Man: So you were trained as a lawyer, I believe.
Woman: No, as an accountant.
Man: A good training for industrial career?
Woman: Yes. I worked for an insurance company before joining the Chepals.
Man: And you have been assisting your son to have done the same, I believe?
Woman: Ah, he was an export manager with a car company for some time.
Man: A good experience.
Woman: He has increased our exports to 70% of our output. Germany, France and U. S. are three of our biggest... well, in fact, our main markets.
Man: The French like the English shoes?
Woman: Of course. At the quality end of the market a foreign label gave that added value.
Man: How many shoes do you, eh, make?
Woman: Like export in a week?
Man: For example.
Woman: 8,000 pairs. They sell from ￡50 to ￡250 a pair. It’s the latter end of the price range that is the biggest in export terms.
Man: Really?
Woman: The name of Chepal still commands a premium.
Man: And you are obviously doing well.
Woman: Half-year profits were up to 23% to ￡1.5 million and the turnover was ￡36.8 million compared to ￡1.2 million last year.
Man: That’s very impressive.
Woman: But we are not complacent. It’s not an easy trade with the flood of imports. Cheap imports have devastated what was once a mighty industry.
Man: What’s the extent... ?
Woman: There is an import penetration of 80%. Four out of five shoes sold here are imported.
Man: That seemed incredible!
Woman: Hundreds of companies are vanished, but we are still at the top.
Man: What has been your strategy?
Woman: We avoid the clash with cheap importers. We stick to our up market niche. And ironically, we export to the country which has destroyed the flooded markets with cheap imports.
Man: Oh?
Woman: Yes, they make money and want to spend it on quality.
Man: Eh. There is always a market for excellence.
Woman: Yes. Quality relies on skill. Low labour cost concern can make shoes cheaper. What they cannot do is make quality shoes better than we can.
Man: What is your main concern about the future?
Woman: Unfair trading. Some countries put an import duty of 20% on our shoes whereas we carry an 8% duty. Twenty years ago 120,000 people worked in the shoe industry in this country. Now it’s 28,000 and falling. In areas where half the population worked in the business, it’s now only 5%. This is wrong.
Man: Yes, that doesn’t sound fair.
Woman: It isn’t.
Man: But you feel confident that you can fight the challenge?
Woman: Oh, yes. We’ll do well through quality and exporting...
Man: I hope so. Then I wish you every success in the future. Thank you, Mrs. Jean Chepal.
Woman: Thank you!