28 June - 4 July 2001

Psychology, property
and passion

He has worked in a mental hospital
in the US, returned to Malta, set up Dhalia Real Estate and has now become the “Napoleon” of Sunday Trading. Kevin Drake takes a look at the man who did it all, well,
nearly, all – Chris Grech

Chris. If you’d be so kind, some background information please.
Well, I’m 44. I was born on April Fool’s day 1957. After attending school at St Aloysius I went to university at San Antonio in Texas and obtained a Masters degree in Psychology. After I graduated I worked in a mental hospital for autistic and schizophrenic children, providing hands-on psychotherapy and treatment. Up until that point I was never involved in business in any way. I had a lot of energy as a child and was very much into sports. Growing up, I decided that I wanted to travel and to get around; to see the world. My father (Grech Alexander) was in the property business; something I had no interest in whatsoever.

(Quizzical raised eyebrow) Er, there must have been some turning point in that regard though?
When I was still in the States (I was about 25 years old) I learnt that my mother developed a serious medical problem in her eye. I was worried and so I hopped onto the first plane out of the States and came over right away. This was a transitional period for me. I wasn’t sure at the time, whether I wanted to continue working and studying in the US, or whether I wanted to come back home. I had already been in America for five years. Once I was back in Malta my brother managed to convince me to stay and open a real-estate business with him. This was 1982/83. The economy was far from healthy then and tension was really running rife in the country. It was certainly not the best time to open a real-estate business. But I needed an excuse, a justification for me to stay here, and this happened to be it.

Didn’t you consider continuing to practice as a psychologist in Malta?
(Smiles) Yes and no. In the early 1980s clinical psychology was still very much a fledgling science. I doubt if psychologists, as such, were even acknowledged as professional therapists over here. It felt very awkward and silly for me to present myself at the mental hospital, offering my services, when those “services” were, at best, frowned upon. I think I would have felt like a proper fool. The choices I had before me, therefore, were: either returning to America and continuing to work in the field of psychology, or else remaining in Malta and finding something to do.

I suppose that the property business was chosen by default?
It was my brother’s doing, really. He pushed me into it. My father wasn’t even running his business at the time. He had decided to retire and had leased the business out to third parties. We had no existing business to turn to so my brother and I had to start from scratch. We hadn’t any funds at our disposal so we were obliged to take a Lm6,000 loan from Lombard Bank. Thankfully we found a landlord who was immensely understanding and reasonable and who agreed to receive his rent in arrears! (smiles).

Was it hard going?
Funnily enough, one of the first decisions we had taken 18/19 years ago was to work seven days a week. We felt that we had to do whatever needed to be done to get the business rolling, and working seven days was just one of the. Ironically, I’m now looked upon as the champion, the “Napoleon”, of the Sunday trading issue. But for me, it wasn’t even really an issue! Working seven days had become purely second nature to me and, to be honest, I couldn’t see myself working any other way. As it happens, almost all of the other estate agencies followed in our footsteps as well, and began to operate seven days a week. Having never worked in the retail industry myself, however, I never imagined that the Sunday trading issue would become such a big deal!

The 1980s being what they were; was it any tougher to get by?
To be truthful, the 1980s were very easy for us. We were lucky and there was very little competition. We weren’t businessmen. Life taught us how to be businessmen. Life also taught us how to respect each other, how to build up a team together, how we desperately needed each other to grow. I brought in old school-friends to work with us, most of whom are still working with us till this day. They left their jobs and came to work with Dhalia.

Where did you start operating from?
A small office in Testaferrata Street. It didn’t take us long to grow and expand though. In the early to mid-1980s it wasn’t hard to provide a service because competitors were very few. Marvellous old houses could still be bought for four, five, six thousand liri; and we were on the threshold of a property revival, especially with regards to old houses and farmhouses, for example.

What set Dhalia apart?
The significant industry turning point came about in 1987, where there was an explosion in the property market. Until 1987 though, there was a conspicuous void in the market that no-one was addressing. We seemed to have discovered this niche and exploited it.

What was this niche?
Personal attention perhaps? We were just a bunch of young kids, in our twenties, with a great deal of energy, prepared to work seven days a week, prepared to work our butts off. We were the ones who were ready and willing to show you and your girlfriend around on a Sunday if necessary, spending the day with you, making friends and not complaining. We were building relationships as well as conducting business.

Is it important to have a particular frame of mind, then?
Yes. And not just a frame of mind. You need to create an environment where you have credibility with your colleagues and your customers alike. If you focus on building relationships and fostering credibility, your business will thrive and you will enjoy yourself. When you enjoying doing what you do: success is just around the corner.

How many outlets does Dhalia operate at present?
About a dozen, I believe.
That’s not bad at all is it?
No, I suppose it’s not bad for a real estate business. We’ve expanded operations too in the meantime, going into property development, property investment. We reached out into a good number of subsidiary areas.

Don’t you think that we’ve reached saturation point in the property market?
I don’t think that you can ever reach saturation point. What will happen is that the market will level out. Our land is finite so what we need, most of all, is to re-build and re-develop existing properties. I feel that most of the available land is not being put to good use. As time passes, the demand for land-use will change. The way that land is utilised will change. That means that there will always be reconstruction, re-development, change of use. To do that feasibly, one will need to bring existing buildings down and re-develop.

Do you think that we’ll be “going vertical” soon?
I don’t think that I have the answer to that. At any rate, I hope that that doesn’t happen! If we do “go vertical” in an exaggerated manner I feel that we will risk losing many of our cultural characteristics. Not having any natural mountains, I’d hate to see “artificial” ones being built all over the place. I think that we do need to raise buildings slightly higher (in order to save space), but within limits. Definitely not in the way that things are done in Hong Kong, for example. In Hong Kong they drop 60-storey skyscrapers to build 90-storey ones! And it’s economically feasible for them to do so. So it’s definitely feasible, economically and otherwise, for us to knock down four storey buildings in Malta, and raise six- or eight-storey ones.

For someone who is a key-
player in the property business, you seem to have a strong eco- and cultural-consciousness that isn’t always synonymous with people in your line of work.
It is essential to be conscious about these things. One goes hand in hand with the other. As Maltese, our greatest “treasure” is our heritage. Our most important and prized possessions are our land, our stone, our beautiful alleys,
the old stone walls, the village pjazzas, the farmhouses and the churches.

(Smiling) And to think that many people equate all property developers with monstrosities and an undying love for the Bulldozer!
(Laughs) Of course not! That’s just common prejudice. It’s true that many people might feel that way, but it’s important to distinguish between certain property developers and others. There are property developers who are immensely sensitive with regards to the repercussions and the long-lasting effects of that which they create. If I create a “monster” I have to remind myself that that monstrosity will be around, and stick out like a sore thumb, for a long, long time. When I build something, I need to be conscious of the ecological impact that that building will have. Will there be any long-term damage to the eco-system? To the water-bed, to the drainage system, to the environment?

So accountability is very important?
Extremely. Unfortunately, there is little or no accountability whatsoever in this area. I am very much in favour of stricter and more stringent controls, be it for the drainage system, the water supply, electricity, wheelchair access, traffic-impact assessment and so on. I feel that I’ve been extremely sensitive to all these areas in whatever I’ve been involved in. You can’t make compromises when it comes to such important things. You need to make the necessary investments in order to conform to all these important rules and regulations. There is
a price to pay, of course. But it is necessary.

Do you pay a lot of attention to detail?
I try to, as much as possible. But like with most things in life, you do have to make a few compromises where necessary (and where possible) if you want to move on.

From the property business to Bay Street. A logical transition?
It’s another challenge. Life is all about challenges and discovering things that make living worthwhile. I don’t want to look back at my life and see “Property” as being the only thing I’ve done. I like to do other things, I like to keep on creating new things. With Bay Street we came up with a leisure and entertainment concept that, in its own way, seems to be slowly changing part of the local culture too.

Well, the Sunday trading issue (kicked-off by Bay Street) certainly kicked up a fuss!
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t even feel that it is an issue! It was precisely because of this reason that I began to feel so strongly about it and support the issue so wholeheartedly! The Sunday Trading “dispute” was built completely out of proportion. They seemed to imply that this was the biggest problem that the country was facing! These people (opposing Sunday trading) are putting all their energies into the wrong areas. There are so many far more important issues to worry about! The environment, the eco-nomy, the political issues and all the other controversies. I feel that when you patronise the people and make a moral issue out of this, you’re stooping pretty low. It’s very sad when you point your finger at a Maltese family and say that they’re acting “immorally” because they frequented an establishment that opens on a Sunday.

So what’s happened to this issue now? Has it fizzled out?
No it hasn’t. At Bay Street we don’t have any problems, as such, because, as a tourist complex, we are permitted by Law to open as we do. The problem is with the law itself. It’s a law passed in 1955 and needs some serious re-working! It’s 50 years old for God’s sake! People’s demands and needs have changed so let’s change the law. That’s all there is to it, end of story! The hypocrisy of it all is that we are now confron-ted with the Sunday open markets phenomenon. Many markets with hundreds of stalls, selling everything under the sun. Isn’t that Sunday trading? What makes matters worse is that a number of these people don’t pay VAT, and, as if that wasn’t enough, they also have the authorities protecting them! (Laughs) There’s something seriously wrong here!

Did you manage to rally enough public support for the Sunday Trading issue?
Yes. Definitely. There was (and is) tremendous support from all sorts of people, coming from all walks of life. It’s very encouraging.

Back to you and your endeavours. There’s the property, there’s Bay Street and now, the newest project: PLC. What’s that all about?
It’s all part of the learning curve (Smiles). Thanks to Bay Street I’ve learnt a great deal about the Leisure and entertainment industries. I’ve also realised that there are very many other areas of learning in business. PLC (Property Letting Company) is definitely the future for the commercial sector here in Malta. It’s not a new idea. The concept has worked very successfully all over the world, especially in the US and in Europe. The demand by large organisations and companies today is such that they are not interested in buying premises to house their hundreds and thousands of employees. They want to invest their money in the growth of their employees, in human resources, in technology and in their IT.

The concept behind PLC is quite forward-looking isn’t it?
I believe that PLC will not grow quickly. It won’t have a growth spurt in a short period of time. At least I hope not. I’m predicting a consistent, constant kind of growth. I definitely don’t expect us to go through the roof in a year! I also think that we’ll see other companies coming up with the same or similar concepts. I hope that we’ll see that. I don’t want us to become a monopoly. Monopolies make you complacent, they don’t present you with any challenges. I hope that others will compete with us, I sincerely do.

You like challenges, don’t you?
Yes. Challenges are important for our personal growth. It’s incredibly important that we commit ourselves to forever improving. Every day we need to make some sort of contribution to learning, to growing, to our learning curve.

Are you a perfectionist?
(Laughs) I’d like to become one.

Your standards, however, seem to be very high. Do you impose these standards mostly on yourself or on others?
On myself mostly. I’m never happy with myself. There’s always room for improvement.
Do you change goals, your targets?
Oh, Yes. Definitely. As I’ve just said, I’m never happy with myself. I change my mind and my goals all the time. That doesn’t mean that I don’t do what I promise to do. If I make a commitment I will honour my commitment at all costs. I might just find a different way of getting the same result. I find myself change direction all the time.

How do you see yourself In 20 years’ time? Will you be retired?
Retired? No. I don’t think so. You only retire when you die. I’d like to retire when I die (smiles). In 20 years’ time, I don’t know, I see myself doing something different, something new.

Up until a short while ago nobody knew who you were. Suddenly you have this very high public profile. Are you comfortable with that? Do you actively seek the attention?
I know that my public profile is much higher nowadays. I don’t like it. And that sort of attention has hurt me quite a bit too.

Hurt you?
Yes. Well, I don’t like to plug myself. I myself am not responsible for the success around me.

Er. Can you explain that?
I’m responsible for driving people forward, that’s about it. Looking back and looking at successes that I’ve been associated with (Dhalia, Bay Street and others) it really all comes down to teams and
teamwork.

So do you see yourself as the captain or as a team-player?
Everything is team-play. It’s all down to the team. It’s all down to “heart”, to caring. What matters most is having a team of people where there is respect all around, where there is loyalty, where people care for what they are doing, where they’re excited about life, where they love life, where people want to do more and keep on improving, that’s what matters.

Are you a good motivator?
Yes. I am a very positive person and I can motivate others. All around me I see people who are capable of doing things I cannot do. I see people achieving results I cannot achieve myself. So I’m the motivator, I’m the leader. Fine! I can stand up in front. That doesn’t mean, however, that being the Captain is the all-important thing. All the people around you are just as important if not more important than you. A number of articles that appeared in the past and that focused on me, tended to make me feel uncomfortable. I am not the be-all and the end-all. (Smiles) Even as far as this article goes, I don’t want to give the impression that ‘Chris is a humble person. He gives credit to colleagues. What a great guy he is’. No. I don’t want that! (Smiles again) It’s not false modesty, it’s just the truth. I do have my own qualities, of course I do. I do have vision, I do have my gifts. But it’s not enough. What is the point of having success if you have no appreciation for all the people around you. What’s the point of being successful if you are aggressive, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing?
Are you very conscious of your public profile?
I don’t think that the public knows who I really am. We are all equal and we are all equally important. Everyone should be treated in the same manner. I don’t believe in titles either, be they Mr, Mrs, Prof., Dr. Whatever. My card here (ID tag) says “Bay Street Team – Chris”. That’s all. On the Opening night of Bay Street we had a problem with the cleaners and so I found myself having to clean out the toilets. And that’s OK. Why not? If necessary l will go on doing cleaning the toilets for as long as I have to. All things must be approached in that way. We need to focus our energies on positive issues. We need to remove our energies away from jealousy, away from concern about what others are doing. Many times you will find that that is the cause for failure: Jealousy and not wishing well for others.

How do you define success?
For me there’s no such thing as success in business. There’s either personal success or personal failure. There’s something that comes before, there’s something that’s more important than your professional life: That’s your commitment to yourself in life. If you achieve financial success but you are a personal failure – then you are a failure. Ultimately we only get once chance at life and we need to make it as happy a life as possible.

Have you attained personal
success?
I’m getting there. I haven’t arrived yet. (Smile)

What does success give you?
Happiness. It’s getting up morning, breathing fresh air and being happy. It’s going to work happy. It’s being happy that you have contributed to your community, that you are doing what you think is right and it’s also about being content with yourself.

Are you a workaholic?
Yes. It’s not a rule that I’d apply for everyone but it certainly applies for me. I want to work, I need to work, so let me work! (smiles)

What’s the best advice you could give to someone?
Follow your heart. Don’t let anyone stop you from trying to achieve. Try something, anything. See what it takes to succeed, find out! Make as many mistakes as you possibly can. That means you’re doing something. But don’t make the same mistake twice. Learn from your mistakes and move on. If you lose, then don’t lose the lesson.

What is the proverbial “Secret of success”?
That’s a very relative question. The “recipe” for success for me is: Enthusiasm, passion. A strong belief in what you’re doing. Not an obsession, mind you. That’s wrong. Obsession involves “blindness”. If you have a passion, a love and a firm commitment and enthusiasm for what you’re doing (smiles) then you’re there! No one can stop you. If you apply passion and commitment to what you do, no matter how much pressure you’re under, no-one and nothing will ever be able to stop you.