Siu King-chin - in tune with success

Visit a Hong Kong Records shop and there's a chance you'll encounter an amiable grey-haired man holding forth on what's hot and what's not in the music scene. That man is Siu King-chin, the founding owner of perhaps the city's biggest retailer of music and movies, doing what he loves most.

Siu, a violinist, started Hong Kong Records 30 years ago as a 200 square foot shop after suffering neck injuries that forced him to abandon his music career. In that time, his business has come a long way, operating out of three sprawling shops that have become the favourite haunts of music lovers and tourists.

Competition from global giants, piracy and technologyinduced changes in music use have hardly scratched the company's record, a firm that continues to top the charts in the city's music industry.

Sitting in his cosy Wan Chai office, Siu says music is integral to his life. "I have 4,000 music CDs at home and I listen to music every day. It's part of my life," he said.

A look around confirms the man's passion for music - the walls are adorned with pictures of him with some of the biggest names in the music world.

But even he admits that the golden era of CD music sales is long gone as many people head for the internet to get their fix.