Ireland's Ian Carroll is the owner of one of the first candle shops in Hong Kong. Rebecca Lo / for China Daily

Intrepid Irish entrepreneur Ian Carroll has been spicing up Lyndhurst Terrace for the past decade with his store The Candle Company. He tells Rebecca Lo what it takes to run a thriving business in Hong Kong's cutthroat Central district.

Ian Carroll first went to Hong Kong in the mid-1980s on a buying trip. Ever since he was a teenager in Ireland, he had been selling products made in Hong Kong: electronics, ornaments and trinkets. "I thought Hong Kong was the most amazing place to do business," Carroll recalls.

When his wife Liana Cafolla was offered a European Commission posting abroad, the couple didn't hesitate to choose Hong Kong as their option. They grew to love their adopted home and decided to stay after her three-year term was up. Upon discussing a number of ideas for a small business, Cafolla noticed that there weren't any candle shops in Hong Kong.

"I hadn't paid any attention to candles before that, although we always had them around our home," Carroll says.

Though he has always been his own boss, Carroll admits that he was fairly naive when he transformed their candle concept into a shop.

"I didn't know that candles were spooky for Chinese people," he grins mischievously. "To find suppliers, I looked in the Hong Kong equivalent of the yellow pages. I knocked on a lot of doors and most people said they only supplied containers. I finally came across one guy who would sell to me, but only for export. So I lied and said that I was planning to sell his candles in Europe. He still insisted that I buy a 20-foot (6 meters) container."

Carroll opened The Candle Company on Lyndhurst Terrace in November 2002. At first, he was its owner, stock boy and any other job required.

"On opening day, a 20-foot container truck pulled up to my door," says Carroll, shaking his head. "I was by myself and had to unload boxes full of candles. Even though I didn't have anything else in the shop, they quickly filled it up. Then the police came by and said that I had to move the truck."

He managed to find a friend with warehouse space in the New Territories willing to let him use it temporarily for storage. "When I got there, I had no idea where I was," he says. "It was an awful start to the business. I had no budget for advertising. But luckily, Christmas was only a month away."

Starting with strictly walk-in, mostly European customers looking for scents to celebrate the holidays, he now has a mostly local clientele.

"Indian customers are huge for us," he adds. The Candle Company also supplies numerous Soho and Central restaurants and bars with their products, though the bulk of its business is from end users or as gift items.

Initially, he sold mostly a mix of candles. After a while, he saw that some colors and scents sold better than others. There are also seasonal favorites.

"In general, red, ivory, golden and silver are popular, and scents like vanilla, ginger and lily. We began selling reed diffusers because a lot of Hong Kong people may not be into decorative candles. We developed them ourselves. The bottles are made in Shanghai, with packaging and assembly in Hong Kong."

In 2002, he paid HK$35,000 ($4,516) per month in rent - a big commitment for a guy who knew nothing about candles. That figure has gone up to HK$136,000 per month. He has witnessed the neighborhood completely transform, picking up speed in the past several years with tenants opening and closing shop in a matter of months.

"The street used to be mostly furniture and decorative products. There were still many small shops that sold things like stationery. A guy used to hammer aluminum containers. Now, it's mostly fashion and restaurants."

"It's difficult to build a Hong Kong brand," he admits. "We would like to offer a completely Hong Kong produced product but people still feel more comfortable buying candles made in Europe."

He uses a British company to produce customized scents, including a fragrant candle inspired by Hong Kong's flower, the bauhinia, to celebrate The Candle Company's 10th anniversary.

Carroll sees skyrocketing rent prices a direct result of luxury brands that cater to mainland tourists.

"They spend so much that the shop's rent is insignificant," he says. "Canton Road and Pacific Place have become Disneylands for rich tourists, not local businesses. We make good products at good prices. While Lane Crawford sells candles for HK$200-600, ours are in the HK$80-150 price category."

Carroll also runs the successful Soho Wines and Spirits underneath the Mid Levels escalators.

Though he has witnessed many competitors come and go, he still stands by the little guy who is willing to pursue a dream despite the odds.

"I never went in for market research to see if a business will succeed," he states. "If you believe in your idea, you just have to try it."

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.