When Richard Eu Yee-ming got tired of wheeling and dealing as an investment banker in the 1980s he went back to his family 'roots' in more ways than one.
Eu, the group chief executive of the 130-year-old Chinese medicine retailer Eu Yan Sang Group, was motivated by a desire to do something more than simply making money. 'Money is not everything,' said Eu. 'As an investment banker, I had to make money for customers. But in Chinese traditional medicine industry our business is to help people improve their health. It is very satisfying when you see people becoming healthier because of our medical products.'
Eu is the fourth generation of his family to run the Chinese traditional medicine group, a household name throughout Asia. The company, which sells more than 1,000 raw Chinese herbs and more than 300 Chinese medicine products, was founded by Eu's great grandfather Eu Kong in 1879 during the era of Emperor Guangxu, the second last emperor of the Ching Dynasty.
Its flagship products include Bak Foong Pills for women and Bo Ying Compound for infants, and Lingzhi cracked spores powder.
Originally from Foshan in Guangdong, Eu Kong left home to work in the small Malayan mining town of Gopeng, Perak.
While there he saw some mine workers taking opium to alleviate the pain from their hard work. Seeing the damage the drug was doing, Eu Kong introduced traditional Chinese herbal remedies to cure the worker's ills. His first shop opened in 1879.
