He was born in Korea, lived illegally in Fuerte Apache and today he is billing $ 700 million for the SME who wants to be "the apple of the household appliances".

One day in 1977, when he was 7, he saw the obelisk and began to understand that living in Argentina might not be so difficult. A few days before, Do Sun Choi he had arrived in the country from Korea with his family and had settled in Fuerte Apache, Ciudadela. He felt that the country to which they had emigrated from the poverty of a third world, Korea, was only a monobloc and more gaps. But he saw that there was a different life and he clung to that. It was not easy, but with oriental perseverance, it progressed. He went to work in a company as a translator and stayed until he became director. He then started his own business and, as an SME, he has weathered all the economic crises in the country in the last 2 years. "Argentina rewards the work," he says without hesitation.

Today, his company Goldmund, owner of the historic brand of home appliances Peabody, It charges $ 700 million a year and produces 400,000 items. "In fact, last year's coup was very difficult, and until the first semester it was not bad, the World Cup and the whole sector was not that bad, but the fall of the second half of the year and the crisis were terrible, the interest rate hit us a lot, and in the last quarter and early this year, demand dropped by 40%. The average of 2018 was not so bad: according to GFK, it fell between 12 and 13% in units, but the fall of the second half was very violent and still does not go up, "says Pilar's father and of Theo.

– What prospects do you see in the industry for this year?

– We see that it's complicated. The big devaluation of last year has not yet reflected in the final prices to consumers. During this year, demand will continue to fall to 2018 levels, we will not see growth. The portfolio we are looking at is focused on the notes below: luxury goods are not sold, they are sold by necessity.

– In this context, what measures did you take in the company?

– Many measures have been taken to deal with the crisis. We adapt the lines to the needs of the market and the population.

We are looking for cheaper products adapted to the needs of this market. We reduce the average ticket price for products and in March, we launched the small appliances with a reduced cost of 30 to 40%.

– What did they have to resign to reach this minimum?

– Profitability, obviously, as in all 2018. The rest, we do not try much, especially we do not want to sacrifice quality. Yes, we renounce the aspirations of having first world products. It hurts a lot, but it's like that. We can not have products like those sold in Europe and Asia today.

– You are a reference for the SME sector, one of the most affected sectors.

– In Argentina, unfortunately, SMEs have big problems of survival. We see a lot of difficulty. Many businesses are shrinking and closing down, a situation that has worsened since the middle of last year. If the situation continues like this, we will have even more problems until the end of this year. Our specific industry is gathered in Buenos Aires and Rosario and everything is visible. There are factories that do not work anymore. The government is now launching special loans at a rate of 29%. This will be helpful and a big help. We take advantage of the line that they launched last year, but it was very short, a drop in the desert.

– Should we copy the Korean model?

– I understand the need for this government to open the economy and insert it in the rest of the world. I can see it because the Argentine market has been closed for many years, but I should have prepared it better. I hear a lot of economists talking about copying the Korean model, based on free trade. A model alone does not make a productive and growing economy. It is the consequence of a policy of a nation and a society that has made efforts. Korea has spared no effort to improve productivity and has invested for years in the fields of technology, science, and education. That is why, today, it is very competitive and can ask, and it suits you, free trade. Before opening a market and signing a free trade agreement with a country, we study a lot the area that will be affected and work for two or three years before opening the market. This is what was missing in Argentina. If factories are under tremendous tax pressure, one of the highest in the world, and the market is opening, no one can compete. We need a very important restructuring of the Argentine economy, the government and the people working hand in hand to improve competitiveness.

– Can you be competitive from Argentina?

– At this moment, as the situation is posed, it is impossible. For three years, we have been developing other markets, with a presence in Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile, with the idea of ​​becoming a regional brand. In Paraguay, for example, there are three 10%: tariffs, VAT and profits. They do not have 4.5% of gross income, they do not have a 1.2% tax on the check. None of these countries have the long list of taxes we have. Bolivia is light years away from Argentina in social and educational terms, but its debt is much lower. This happens because our administration is terrible. If we do not solve these problems, we will never be competitive.

– If I had to ask the government for a measure, the most urgent, what would it be?

– We must relax with the tax pressure. Not only with the percentage we pay, they also force us to collect and keep taxes. This is a serious problem: we sell goods to our customers, we charge late and we must also pay taxes in advance. This creates a distortion and all businesses benefit from a tax credit, in a context where rates are stealing. We must solve the urgent tax pressure or SMEs, we will not be able to survive. The 2002 was limited, but this moment too; much worse than in 2008. And that's because of the tax burden and the interest rate that kills consumption and the sector. Added to this is the uncertainty of the exchange rate after a phenomenal devaluation. But society does not believe that this devaluation will rebadure the economy and make it competitive. We do not know what we need to do.

The bike wheel

The four members of the Choi family arrived in the country one year after the beginning of the last military dictatorship and lived several years in poverty and undocumented. They have fled a Korea that is not currently in a dictatorship and economically backward. "Argentina was then a much more developed country. My parents emigrated, they wanted another horizon for their children"Do Sun said.

They entered the country from Paraguay and, already in the capital, they settled in Fuerte Apache. "It was really not a nice place, the first memories are not good, it was a disappointment to come live here in this environment, but I remember a collective trip that took us driven until July 9 and that I saw Obelisk for the first time. wow"I really saw the city," recalls the businessman about these complex years surrounded by the fear of deportation.

"We were very poor, but Argentina is rewarding the work and we are making progress," he said. Near his home there was a bicycle factory and they knocked on the door. They started putting wheels in their house: every 400 gave them a bike to sell. "All four of us had wheels all day, we had all our fingers hurt, but we started," he recalls.

He learned Spanish at school, in the neighborhood and read a lot. At 19, he joined Daewo as a translator of tender documents for the railways in which the Korean participated. It was going to be three months and he stayed 15 years: he became a manager. He launched car models on the market, bought elevators for construction and acquired foreign trade experience with the sale of cereals. There he also met the home appliance market.

– Daewo is born the gene for what will later be his own business?

– Yes, the company was an input supplier to the Tierra del Fuego factories. I left in 1998 and followed this trend. The first years, I was successful, but the crisis of 2002 has collapsed. I lived for 18 consecutive months without income. There were problems of all kinds, you could not charge anything. I had to start again in 2003.

– At that time, he managed to buy the Peabody brand.

– It was a mark of a well-known refrigerator factory that had melted. Last year, we were 15 years old. Today, Peabody manages four product lines: small appliances, electric heaters, fans and air conditioners, and appliances. We have our factory in Hurlingham and we manufacture 400,000 items a year. Peabody is an old brand in Argentina, but we want it to be strong and emerging, with a different brand identity. The big brands have that. Apple, for example: everyone knows what their identity is. We aspire to be that with three pillars: design, exterior and cosmetics is fundamental and we invest a lot in Argentine design; innovation, we think that if the product creates added value in the daily life of the consumer; and the quality of the components and in the service and the public attention across the country.

– What do you think is the main difference between Korean businessmen and Argentines?

– Koreans examine productivity day after day. They talk about it all the time: how old are they of China, Japan and the United States? Here you can not: before there is the exchange rate, rates, unions, cash and other unrelated issues with the company. The time to look at competitiveness is very little.

– What are the keys that brought this poor boy from Korea to become an entrepreneur?

– This is the result of hard work and perseverance. Try not to take easy routes, but good ones, which are almost never the shortest. That's the key: be true to beliefs and goals.

– Do you want to live in Korea?

– Not at all. My whole life is here.