A GROWING CONSUMER GROUP
More area firms cater to Hispanic population
By DIANA FISHLOCK Of The Patriot-News
They're young, they've got money to spend, and they still barely register on the radar of some businesses.
Hispanics' purchasing
power was nearly $500 billion in 2001 and is expected to reach $1
trillion by 2010, since it's growing three times as fast as that of
non-Latino Caucasians, according to "Hispanics Today: Leaders of the
New Millennium" by TransWorld Inc.
Hispanics are the
fastest growing consumer segment and comprised 13.6 percent of the
teenage population in 2001, which adds up to 4.3 million young
consumers with an estimated spending budget of $20 billion. Although
the mid state's approximately 31,000 Hispanics are small papas compared
to Los Angeles or New York, the Hispanic population in Cumberland,
Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry and York counties has doubled since 1990,
according to U.S. Census data.
That means not only
more frijoles and fiestas, but more cars, homes, haircuts and checking
accounts. Some midstate businesses are reaching out to the Latino
market. They're hiring bilingual staff, advertising in Spanish as well
as English, carrying products Latinos might want to buy and joining
Latino organizations to make contact.
"People are taking a
look at Hispanics and realizing how important we are as a group," said
Balbina Caldwell of Mechanicsburg, 32, a Spanish professor at Messiah
College. "We're interested in the community and voting, so more people
are paying attention to us. We're hardworking and discretionary income
is increasing, so more businesses are paying attention to us."
James A. Stoudt,
president of One World Recruiters in Camp Hill, which matches companies
with bilingual professionals, noted that Hispanics' wealth is
increasing as they get better jobs. "Latino wealth is such an untapped
marketplace," Stoudt said. "Central Pennsylvania is a very conservative
area and the mainstream employers are just starting to realize the need
for Latino employees."
Meanwhile, some small
area businesses are already tapping into the market. Lance Ulen, owner
of Hooper Memorial Home in Susquehanna Twp., first worked with a Latino
family when a friend married a Latina, then someone in her family died
several years ago, Ulen said.
Ulen has hired
Patricia Vargas Golden, a bilingual administrative assistant who can
communicate with Latino clients and translate brochures and legal forms
into Spanish. "Because of the increase in Hispanics, I need to be more
sensitive," he said. "If you're going to do a full-service business,
then you need to serve the whole community."
Allfirst Bank has the
same philosophy. Allfirst has been reaching out to the midstate's
Latino community for several years, said Thomas C. Bell, senior vice
president. He's joined several Hispanic organizations and serves on the
board of some.
"I go to meetings and
say, 'I have a program I think might help Mrs. Rodriguez,' or whatever.
It's not so much advertising, but being there," Bell said.
The bank has hired
more bilingual tellers at many branches, translated brochures and
developed programs in Spanish to teach people about credit, applying
for a loan or securing a mortgage.
"We've budgeted for bilingual ATMs in Spanish, concentrated in areas with major Hispanic population," said Bell.
The bank sometimes
partners with a nonprofit organization to help low income people save
money for a car or an individual retirement account by putting away a
minimum of $10 a week with a match from the state government, he said.
Allfirst also was a founding member of the year-old Pennsylvania Latino Chamber of Commerce.
"We work together to
try to develop products, economic empowerment seminars, making monies
available to Latinos that have been there for 100 years, but no one's
ever approached them," Bell said. "... They have been banking, but
maybe they have been banking someplace that wouldn't loan them money
for their business. That's where the need is.
"The great thing is,
that little Mom and Pop grocery store has probably been there for 30
years, so they're doing something right. They may need it to fix up the
facade of the store or get an addition or just for capital."
Giant Food Stores has been marketing to ethnic groups, including Latinos, for about 41/2 years, officials said.
"Giant recognized
that if we didn't market to them we'd be at a disadvantage," said Denny
Hopkins, vice president of advertising and sales development.
While Caucasian and
black population growth is flatter, the Hispanic and Asian populations
are growing quickly, said Deborah Vereen, Giant's director of organize
effectiveness and diversity.
"Until we started doing the research, we did not realize how much the demographics had changed," she said.
The Carlisle-based
grocery store chain has begun advertising in Spanish in Lancaster and
Allentown, hiring bilingual staff, using bilingual signs in stores and
carrying more Hispanic products, according to company officials.
Giant has added Goya
products, frozen foods, health and beauty aids, seafood and dairy
products in Lancaster and Allentown, and will do so in Harrisburg,
Vereen said. The chain has added more produce to attract Latinos,
including bread fruit, jicama, passion fruit, sour oranges, yucca,
tamarindo and more types of bananas, peppers and coconut.
"They're very health conscious and they cook a lot from scratch," Vereen said.
With businesses
catching on to the importance of reaching out to Latinos, this is a
golden time to be a Latino looking for work, especially at the entry
level with an eye to moving up within a company, said Stoudt, of One
World Recruiters.
"It's fantastic. It's
just on the front end of it," Stoudt said. "The major movement is still
probably a year away, but it's catching on."
DIANA FISHLOCK : 255-8251 or dfishlock@patriot-news.com
The Sunday Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA)
Page E01 12/15/02
Some Hispanic businesses attract non-Latinos, too
By DIANA FISHLOCK Of The Patriot-News
Yuca, platanos, malanga and yautia line the produce
shelves. Twenty-pound bags of rice are stacked high against one wall.
Goat meat, smoked herring and salted pigs feet rest beside Oscar Mayer
Lunchables.
This is not your mama's convenience store.
Jay's Mini Market in Lebanon may seem exotic to some, but to its mostly Hispanic customers, it's a taste of home.
Area Hispanic-owned business offer customers more
than a bilingual shopping experience. The business owners understand
Hispanic culture, values and lifestyles.
The United States' 1.2 million Hispanic-owned
businesses employed more than 1.3 million people and generated $186.3
billion in revenues in 1997, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In central Pennsylvania, Latinos own not just
restaurants and bodegas, but law firms, car dealerships, Web site
design firms and more. While some thought their customers would be
mostly Hispanic, some are attracting a sizable non-Hispanic customer
base, too.
"All things being equal, they feel more comfortable
dealing with people who are bilingual or bicultural or both," Samuel
Rivera said of his Hispanic law clients, who make up about a third of
his practice. "It's tough to find Spanish-speaking attorneys, and
there's a demand."
Clients feel more comfortable dealing with a
bilingual lawyer than having to speak through an interpreter, he said.
He has firm information and legal documents in both languages at his
Harrisburg practice.
"The consultations are in Spanish if that's what they desire," Rivera said.
Understanding Hispanic culture plays a big role in
Julio Pena's work. He and his wife, Cathy, own Exact Communication, an
interpreting and translating business. Sometimes one word can make all
the difference, he said.
"One time, I was on a hearing and the gentleman
being deposed was from Cuba," Julio Pena remembered. A lawyer was
asking the man how many weeks pregnant his wife was when something
occurred. "He couldn't come up with weeks because, in the Latin world,
we deal with months. Things like that you have to tell your client
because it's part of the culture."
Only 10-15 percent of the Penas' clients are
Hispanic, but that percent is growing as the population booms. The
midstate's Hispanic population doubled between 1990 and 2000, according
to U.S. Census data.
The Penas, who use more than 50 interpreters and
translators, have translated business, government, legal, medical,
insurance and human resources documents into Vietnamese,
Serbo-Croatian, Spanish and moreexotic languages since they opened
their Palmyra business in 1995, they said.
The owners of 2 Guys Bakery thought most of their
customers would be Hispanic when they opened in Lebanon in February,
said Edelmira Gonzalez, who owns the bakery with her brother, Augustine
Melendez, and their spouses.
Their customers -- 60 percent Anglo, 40 percent
Hispanic -- travel from Lancaster, Allentown, Reading and New York for
flan, guava puffs, quesito -- a sweet cheese turnover with honey glaze,
and for non-Hispanic desserts such as Napoleons, eclairs and pies,
Gonzalez said.
"They want us to move. 'Why don't you move to
Harrisburg? You could make more dinero money,'" Gonzalez said,
mimicking her customers. "No, this is my town."
The owners of Puertorican Paradise Restaurant found
75 percent of their customers aren't Hispanic, they said. "We were
surprised it's mostly white people," said Leticia Perez, who opened the
restaurant July 4 with Isabel and Pedro Rojas. "We explain how we make
the food. Most Anglos love it. It's new, but they like the experience
of trying something new."
Ruben Vazquez, who bought Bob's Auto Exchange in
Harrisburg almost eight years ago, said a recent trip gave him a new
appreciation for his ability to speak two languages. "I've gone to
Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico," he said. "This year I went to
Germany, and it was the first time I realized what other people go
through. Not being able to understand the language gave me an
appreciation for my language. It put me on the other side." Now he
appreciates why Latino customers are glad he speaks Spanish, he said.
"It's always a more comfortable atmosphere for them," he said.
DIANA FISHLOCK : 255-8251 or dfishlock@patriot-news.com.
For further information and media opportunities, please contact Ms. Serrano at 717-270-6651
