CLS: My name is Charles Sykes, today is July 19th. It's 11:05 and I'm with Ms. Unah Choi, Purchasing Director for Choi Brothers Incorporated. Ms. Choi first could you give me a description of your business in terms of products, marketing, etc.

UC: Okay. We manufacture uniforms and we actually manufacture a few different types. I suppose the primary type is uniforms for the martial arts market. And we've been doing that since 1973. And a few years after that we started to manufacture uniforms for the industrial laundry market, if I can call it that. You know coats that people would wear in kind of large food processing plants and things like that. And those are our primarily our two product lines. And so we manufacture it here in Chicago and we distribute from our distribution facility which is the same facility here in Chicago.

CLS: Okay. Just a side question since I was familiar with the Choi name from the martial arts uniforms, what kind of like the business mix in terms of the industrial uniforms. Are they a growing part of the business?

UC: It's pretty even actually and it has been pretty even since we started the industrial uniforms which was again, it was very shortly after we started business altogether.

CLS: What is, can you give us a description of your customers in terms of are your customers primarily distributors, the vehicle that you use to interface with them.

UC: For the martial arts' uniforms our customers are primarily instructors and school owners and then distributors. But they're mostly school owners, people who are themselves the instructors.

CLS: Okay and they order direct?

UC: They order direct to us and then they in turn, actually don't know how they do this. I would assume primarily they resell these to their students but I know some schools that give away uniforms as part of whatever their package they're selling, the instruction lesson. And then they would you know give them a uniform as part of that.

CLS: As part of the fee.

UC: And then the industrial uniforms, now they are mostly be kind of a larger laundries, industrial laundries.

CLS: In term of placing the orders, they primarily call in -

UC: They primarily call in or fax, I would say eighty percent, eighty-five percent they call in for their orders. And at this point we don't have, we don't really have the ability to take orders online other than they can email us an order but, you know we don't have any interactive type thing.

CLS: Sure. Now given, I assume there's a cyclical in terms of recurring business, what vehicles are you using in terms of recruiting new customers or do you have like a marketing force that keeps contact with existing customers that haven't ordered in a while and that sort of stuff?

UC: We don't have anything that's, what's the word for it -- I mean we have a few people in the office who, keeps contact with our current customers and any new leads that might come in and those leads would be generated by direct mail. I try and get information off the web, we don't really have a sales force per se. I mean every one in the office kind of does a little bit of everything and a part of that is...

CLS: Sure. And that interfacing with customers, is that on both sides of the business or primarily on the industrial side?

UC: I would say both sides.

CLS: In terms of interfacing with your suppliers in terms of material and etc., is that also, in terms of ordering supplies, that would be via phone, fax or what?

UC: Yes, the same way, by phone or fax. We don't have any, I mean we don't have EDI or anything like that.

CLS: Well that's one advantage of ecommerce, in terms of a lower cost alternative to EDI.

UC: Right.

CLS: There's some standard vehicles for that, where you don't have to have (Inaudible).

Now I remember from the last meeting you have (Inaudible) and a fairly wide range of applications that you were running. Can you give me a description of how information technology is used in the business. In some cases it could be just strict accounting and financial and not in terms of materials purchased and the flow and that sort of stuff. So maybe just what applications you're running and how it's used?

UC: Well we're using the software that we have for order processing generates a pick ticket which then gets turned into an invoice. So, you know kind of thes basic things. We use it for accounting functions. And let's see what else, inventory tracking. I'm just trying to think of what else. And then, completely separate from what we have up here in the office in order to do the order processing we also have a system that, we have a moving system. I think I told you about that. It's to help us in manufacturing. What it does is each, machine operator would have a workstation. And that's all networked, I mean there are various stations, there's like up to like a hundred stations I think that you can have.

CLS: No.

UC: Yeah and basically what happens is somebody programs, each machine operator will be doing a certain function. They are attaching sleeves, you know that day. They go ahead and punch that code in and so what it does is it, the computer, actually moves the items to the correct person in the right order. It also tracks, oh they have a queue of about 10 pieces waiting to be done, we have to send it onto the next person who's not as busy. Things like that so it makes it very efficient to like send things around. So that's like a, that's a completely separate system that we have for the manufacturing part. And, I don't even think there's anything that would integrate the two or, or even how we would use the information. But I suppose that's kind of like, oh I don't know, I don't know what I was gonna say after that. But that's, as I said a completely separate part of it for the manufacturing.

CLS: There might be some possibilities, if not a direct interface, but you could import and export information based on the materials you used at that station and the information gets fed and (inaudible) updated like a nightly batch kind of thing.

UC: Right.

CLS: Okay no I wasn't aware of that. On the market end since you are processing customer orders and I heard you mention that people do keep track of your customers. Are you generating reports in terms of sales flow so that you can see if there's a drop or a decrease, and somebody follows up on that, etc.

UC: Right, right.

CLS: Okay looking back at your, at the technology, you have a website currently?

UC: We have a website and, it's basically at this point just advertisement. You know you can't really do much on it in terms of ordering. We were thinking of, we were looking into ecommerce, and all of that and, it's just a little bit too expensive at this point so, especially with the way the economy's been going we've kind of put that on the back burner, indefinitely.

CLS: Well I see the effect especially in the area.

UC: Yeah, yeah.

CLS: Well give me a little picture of, given that you have a website then what was the thinking, like I guess maybe a little time flow in terms of why you did it, what, what was the rationale, anticipated benefits, etc.?

UC: To actually have the website that we have now?

CLS: What prompted that move?

UC: I think that, I think we felt that, number one it wasn't, it's not that expensive to actually just have the website up there. And it almost lends legitimacy. I don't know, for me at least, if I call a company and I can get some information on their website, there's like, you know that's like another kind of piece of evidence that they exist, right? You call them on the phone and then if they have a nice website or if it's, you know done well. I mean it really does add, I think to the image of the company. And then everybody was getting a website. I think we have to kind of keep up and make sure that you're at least doing the same.

CLS: Your professional image.

UC: Yes exactly, and that was the reason why we got it. And now that a lot more people are going online it is a lot faster to update things on your website rather than getting thousands of catalogs printed up and mailed out. And its pretty good when you're on the phone with a customer and they want to know about some of new product, you're like go on the website there's a picture of it right there on the (inaudible) so. So for that I mean it has, it serves some good function.

CLS: Yes, you have something with geographic range of it is (inaudible) the Choi name. It's a well known name, nationally at least, in martial arts. Now is that hosted here? Was it developed here or elsewhere or --

UC: We don't have host, we have a person that does that for us.

CLS: Okay so they take care of all of that?

UC: Yes, they take care of that.

CLS: Then that's, basically I think the last thing and this is kind of a repeat one of the questions that Pfleger asked (inaudible) just some idea of (inaudible), oh no I'm sorry before that. One of the things he did mention was about the area being rezoned.

UC: Oh yes.

CLS: Is that, I don't know how --

UC: That's so strange, I always find out a little bit about this, right before that meeting and then I was actually talking to somebody about this before our meeting today --

CLS: Okay so I wanted to capture what's happening with --

UC: I believe they just approved this area as a TIF area. And I don't really know that much about that, it's a little bit hard to understand but I'm trying to get more information about it. I went to a hearing back in April regarding the Division/Homan TIF. And what their plans were for it. I don't know if, the building right across the street from us, they think they want to purchase, the city wants to purchase it, Homeline.

CLS: Okay I haven't talked to them. I talked with the one south - Chicago Press.

UC: Chicago Press.

CLS: But I didn't know if they're part of this or not because I have a meeting with them next month.

UC: Oh okay.

CLS: I talked with them last summer so I'm meeting with them next month so I'm saying wait a minute these are large companies to be you know pushed out.

UC: I think Homeline, the reason they gave as the reason for asking them to relocate and they were, the city was helping them to relocate, was that it really was not ideal to have a company like that right there because the loading docks were on Division -- which created some traffic problems. You know they would come up onto the pavement on our side. I mean they were just like creating some problems. And also there's a school right behind there and they thought that it would, it was a little bit dangerous to have all this activity going on. And you know school kids and anyway those are the reasons that were expressed. And they are moving and I think they are trying to put in some sort of, I think originally they wanted to have a grocery store and some other stores there. You're rolling your eyes. But you know what I got from that meeting was basically their goal was to improve the neighborhood. Bring in more businesses and make it a better place to live for the current residents. So that's where we're at now. We have not heard anything about, I mean we were told by the city that we're not on the acquisition map.

CLS: Oh, okay.

UC: So I mean they're not trying to acquire this building and that's what I was told today.

CLS: Okay.

UC: Do you know something?

CLS: No, I didn't so I thought you were still being pushed out too. I'm saying, well, is the whole area?

UC: Well is Chicago Press?

CLS: I'll meet with them first week in August.

UC: Okay.

CLS: So I'll ask the marketing manager because I talked with him last summer (inaudible).

UC: Oh okay.

CLS: But if you're not on the list then chances are maybe they're not either.

UC: Well in fact I was told that only that building was kind of the target for acquisition. And in this whole area which includes Chicago Press I'm assuming. And the other thing at the public hearing that I was at what they wanted to do was this area, they wanted to rezone for, I think it's commercial now, and they wanted to rezone it to commercial/industrial, which I don't know whether that's a step down or up. So anyway that's what they --

CLS: I assume west of Pulaski there's mostly industrial so.

UC: Which way is Pulaski that way?

CLS: Yeah.

UC: Okay.

CLS: So when you go on Pulaski towards Cicero that's heavily --

UC: Heavily industrial?

CLS: Yeah.

UC: Okay.

CLS: So we just have those residential pockets.

UC: Okay. So that's, that's all I know about the project at this point. So,

CLS: (Inaudible) this goes I thought the whole thing was -- I said are they wiping all the businesses east of Pulaski or what?

UC: But then I wouldn't know what they wanted to, what they would do with the buildings. I mean I don't know whether, I suppose residential but they're not rezoning it for residential so that's the (inaudible). So who knows. I mean, my feeling was that you know once the TIF was approved it kind of would, I don't know, bring more stability into the neighborhood or something. I mean it's a good thing isn't it, a TIF? Uh-oh but, at this point I'm just gathering as much information as I can just to see what it's all about, to see if it's something that we can take advantage of because we'd like to make some significant improvements to the building. And that would make sense if we knew that it made sense for us to stay here and continue in this neighborhood.

CLS: I'll give your number to Jeannette Jackson who's Director for the Chicago Neighborhood Housing Services on Chicago Avenue(inaudible)

UC: Oh okay. Oh thank you.

CLS: Oh and so the last question and just coming back to what Pfleger mentioned as well, given that DePaul has a seed grant to start a business support center in the area, looking at possibly what kind of services, what kind of expertise, cause the support center would involve not only student, but faculty as well, because a number of faculty in say, School of Computer Science and College of Commerce, etc. they are industry consultants in various areas of specialization and they have the quality institute, ISO 9000, etc. And so what kind of expertise do you think would be useful to have available through the small business support center that we would be established here that would be of use to you?

UC: Well I suppose anything that would and this is pretty general but you know we're a small business and, there really aren't --

CLS: You're not that small.

UC: Right, but there really aren't that many resources for businesses of our size. I mean because when I get on a website or when I go to a seminar, you know that's for (inaudible). And even what they consider like mid-market, I mean mid-market to them is you know --

CLS: Five hundred employees.

UC: Exactly, exactly. So you know if we're thinking of, oh we'd like to get better software, we'd like to get something that would make our operations more efficient, blah blah blah. And then when I go onto web sites or go to these seminars its, there's nothing there for us. And it's very expensive and I suppose, I'm just like kind of searching as to like what kind of services, I suppose consulting services in a way. Because again those services are also expensive and they're not really, I mean it, it's kind of out of our budget to be paying certain things. But they just don't seem to have things like that for the smaller businesses and so I think that it be great if and I know that that's a general thing but let's say consulting in terms of what software should I get?

CLS: In technology.

UC: Or yeah. That was a little rambling but...

CLS: No, it was very focused, not at all. Because then consulting in terms of technology, it could be in terms of software, it could be in terms of expanding networks, expanding web presence, etc., and I assume that there would be an interface with the College of Commerce as well. So then that way you're bringing in not only marketing issues but also industrial issues in terms of work processes, etc., and I assume that some of faculty in the College of Commerce would have specialization in that area since you are a manufacturing facility.

Thank you very much.

UC: Well thank you.