The funeral business is not for the faint-hearted, and for a young Hong Kong girl fresh out of a Canadian university with a degree in economics, it might seem an unlikely pursuit.
But that was the course Leslie Lok Man-yee set out on a decade ago when she joined her parents at Kung Sau Funeral Service, Hong Kong's oldest undertaking firm. Lok is the eldest of four children - all daughters - and the responsibility of taking over the family business will fall to her. Her sisters aren't involved in the business. After learning the trade from her parents, Lok will assume the helm when her father retires.
Founded nearly a century ago, Kung Sau provides one-stop mortuary services, including sales of coffins, arrangement of funerals, transport of bodies and embalming services. Unlike some other funeral-service providers, Kung Sau has shunned expanding into the mainland, preferring to remain a boutique focused on Hong Kong. The company employs 10 funeral consultants and eight make-up artists.
Lok, who will be the first female to head the family business, shared her vision for managing the firm's future and what it's like to be a woman in a predominantly male profession.
Do you think brand building is important in your profession?
It is important - not in a sense to attract more clients, but to alter people's negative image about our business. People look down on us. Forty years ago, we would get complaints if we put advertisements in newspapers. Nowadays, I work with non-profit organisations, hospitals and universities, and give talks to students, social workers and the public about death and funeral rituals, so they have a better understanding of our profession.