The simple offices of Central Pacific Tuna are thousands of miles away from the watery homes of the snapper, grouper, wahoo and, of course, tuna the company imports into the U.S. President Tony Grey may not be on a fishing boat off Vietnam or Oman or Peru or other exotic locales that supply the fish but still must be well aware of weather conditions, the length of the fishing seasons, price fluctuations, even the condition of the roads leading from the ports. In handling a fresh product like seafood – and doing it by the ton – much can change by the hour and the day that affects it reaching the hands of the wholesalers who pass it along to restaurants, retailers and the public. When the volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in Iceland in April causing a disruption in the airspace over Europe, flights carrying Central Pacific seafood ended up delayed. “We chose to embrace all the things that make it difficult knowing that if we mastered that we will have a good position on the selling side,” Grey said. The five-year old Woodland Hills company finds itself in that good position, seeing a 64 percent increase in sales between 2008 and 2009. Tuna is tops In the nearly $70 billion U.S. seafood industry tuna accounts for most of the imports, according to the Commerce Department, with almost double the metric tonnage of the closest competitor in salmon. The western and central Pacific Ocean supports the largest tuna fishery of the world, with 56 percent of world production caught there in 2007, according to the study by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation. Central Pacific is a small player in all this although Grey has expansion and even a few acquisitions on his mind. As president, he describes his position as a combination of chief executive and general manager and eventually wants to cede the former to a newcomer. Then there is the matter of fishing vessels. When starting the company Grey had wanted to have his own fleet until a change of heart put him in another direction. Once having built up the sales network Grey wants to “double back” and either own or lease several boats that would then put the seafood into the company’s own sales channels. Is this ambitious for the 29-year old Valley native with limited business experience? “I don’t know if it is or not,” Grey admitted. “Sometimes I think it is.” Simple plan In building the business, Grey went on instinct on what to do to convince suppliers to provide him with seafood. There was never a formal, written business plan in the first few years. The plan was simply to buy low and sell high, not that it always worked out that way. Grey did all this because there was no one there to tell him otherwise. It’s a characteristic seen by Ben Tenn, a counselor with the Small Business Development Center who has been working with Grey since last July on better management of Central Pacific. While other clients of Tenn’s saw upwards of a 40 percent drop in revenues as the economy collapsed, Grey saw his revenues go up. The poor economy wasn’t going to be a factor in whether Central Pacific was profitable or not. “He didn’t allow that to get in his way,” Tenn said. Canoga Park native Grey grew up in Canoga Park, went to Monroe High School and attended Pierce College before heading out to sea on fishing and research vessels. Salesmanship appeared early in his life, leading Grey to purchase large bags of candy that he later sold off piece by piece in grade school. In high school he added soda to his offerings, pricing it less than what was available in the school’s machines. Added into the mix of the origins of his entrepreneurship was a less than affluent family life. There wasn’t an incredible amount of money floating around, Grey explained, and he knew early on that he would have to depend on himself to find work. When Grey started Central Pacific he envisioned immediately operating his own boat and marketing the seafood directly. Then Grey switched course and decided it was better to learn the markets he would be getting into before making any big moves. The learning curve began with how to work with foreign suppliers, taking baby steps to get them to be confident in what Central Pacific could do as an importer. As the new kid on the block, Grey said, suppliers were wary of working with him and with those that did he had to be careful not be taken advantage of. Grey showed persistence in learning about current pricing on both the purchasing and selling sides. It was not unusual that in the first year or two that he would buy high and sell low. That strategy did not bring in a lot of profit but could be placed in the knowledge category, Grey said. “I wanted mistakes to be low when we were making mistakes,” Grey added. Meeting with Tenn revealed some of the missteps Grey had taken in not managing Central Pacific very well. Pricing problems While the company was growing, the profits weren’t and that was attributed to the sales price of the seafood. Grey bought at one price when the fish was fresher but the end buyer paid a lower price because the quality had dropped. Pacific Central was taking on the price difference itself and that in turn reduced gross profits. “He didn’t realize that until we talked through the selling process,” Tenn said. There can be no sales, however, until the fish are transported from the boats and that is where the importance of logistics enters the picture. All Central Pacific fish is sent by airfreight. When choosing countries to bring seafood in from a good road and port system and access to an international airport is vital. In Vietnam, for instance, the fish must be transported by truck to the airport, while in the Philippines the closest airfield is a short distance from the port. Succeeding as he has means quickly adapting to ever changing conditions. The demand for seafood is always in fluctuation. Holidays are big, and then there is a drop off in the days afterward. Grey may not always be happy with what he receives from suppliers but can always find a way to get it into the hands of buyers. But it will always be the highest grade product that opens the most doors and gives the most options for a sale. As for his own consumption, Grey said he doesn’t eat much tuna but when he does he prefers spring tuna rolls or a grilled red meat steak tuna with light salt and pepper. “It’s so expensive,” Grey said. “That’s why I sell it.”
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