Vast business empire grew from entrepreneur's vision
To many looking back on Hong Kong's early days as a trading port, Queen Victoria was the monarch overseeing her empire. If you're a Dane, however, the names Christian IX and Frederick VII would have more resonance.
In 1895, entrepreneur Jacob Jebsen, from the Baltic port of Aabenraa in Denmark's far south, co-founded Jebsen & Co in Hong Kong with his friend and business partner Heinrich Jessen.
Mr Jebsen and Mr Jessen had planned to start a shipping agency but their business swiftly became a major trading company - a 'hong' that managed to hold its own against local giants of the day, such as Jardine Matheson and Swire, that were steeped in loyalty to Queen Victoria and her empire.
Mr Jebsen's efforts have seen four generations of the family working in Hong Kong, with the name behind some notable firsts such as importing the first Volkswagen Beetle here by air in 1953 and the first Porsche two years later.
The pioneering Mr Jebsen is the great-grandfather of chairman Hans Michael Jebsen, who joined the company on arriving in Hong Kong in 1981 and became chairman in 2000.
In the first decade of the 20th century, Jebsen & Co established links with a large number of companies operating on the mainland in order to export Chinese products. The company also opened offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
A notable success during this era of expansion was the acquisition of the Blue Girl Beer brand.
Mr Jebsen established one of the most highly regarded Danish global enterprises the world has ever seen. But his legacy - Jebsen & Co - has had its ups and downs, with perhaps the most challenging coming in the wake of the formation of the People's Republic of China.
In 1963, communist China expelled 'foreign capitalist roader' companies. But Jebsen & Co and a handful of foreign firms were later readmitted to operate before the country opened to the global economy in the 1980s.
Today, Jebsen & Co is a diverse global giant with a presence in more than a dozen countries. Jebsen's daily operations are based on the trading of a vast range of goods and services, encompassing high-end cars, notably Porsche, and other luxury items, chemicals, industrial machinery, fine wines and even one of Hong Kong's most familiar beers.
Jebsen is one of the few foreign firms to have had a continuous involvement in Hong Kong and on the mainland that predates air freight. But, like every business in Hong Kong today, it is having to adapt to the recession.
'As with any business and any market that depends on consumer demand, the worldwide economic downturn will have an impact on Jebsen to a certain extent,' a company spokesman said.
'However, Jebsen is on the right track to grow continuously and, where meaningful, we will continue to sign up new principals that strengthen our leading position as a strong marketing and distribution organisation in the region. This is backed by our deep knowledge in the market, expertise in marketing and distribution, service-oriented approach and our people.'
In other words, steady as she goes.
This year's big Jebsen anniversary is the centenary of Jebsen trading in the German city of Hamburg. And it's close to home, so to speak. Only 170km north of Hamburg lies Aabenraa, where the Jebsen saga first took shape.
Unlike Hong Kong and Hamburg, Aabenraa has changed little over the centuries. The quiet little Danish town, with its pretty harbour and pastel-coloured low-rise buildings, has a tranquil graveyard. And engraved on more than a few of its gravestones can be observed the 'three mackerels' logo of the vast maritime empire that became Jebsen & Co. One of these final resting places belongs to Jacob Jebsen.
Meanwhile, it's another ordinary trading day in Hong Kong for an extraordinary trading company with inconspicuous Danish origins.
