Kieran McCarry, Owner and Managing Director of Clarisound Professional Hearing Care, started his hearing care journey in the UK in the early 1990s. Working with a large hearing aid retailer he felt he ‘started changing peoples’ lives’. Qualifying as a professional audiologist Kieran began managing teams, selling and fitting hearing aids then, in 1997, he went to work in Asia with Siemens. One business he helped to set up was in Malaysia and in 2003 he relocated. “They wanted more expertise in Malaysia,” he says, then after a few years, the owner offered to sell him the business. “That was then, and next year will be Clarisound’s 20th anniversary under my ownership and management,” says Kieran.

“The way the hearing aids business in Malaysia operates now has transitioned from small shops to modern retail outlets,” says Kieran adding, “I am very proud of this and it’s a nice legacy to have.” Talking about the last 20 years in Malaysia Kieran says, “It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable and wonderful journey,” adding, “there are always challenges in every business and these keep evolving; from HR crises to dealing with burglaries, IT and customer issues, there are all sorts of things.” When GST was introduced Kieran says, “As a business owner the buck stops with me. The decisions you make affect everyone in the company and many people don’t fully understand this. You have to get on with the vision you have for running your organisation and hopefully make it through difficult times.”

When the Covid epidemic happened Kieran’s first reaction was to sit and wait it out. “Initially we decided to keep two outlets open, by appointment and for emergencies. It’s difficult when someone is without their hearing aids as their quality of life is devastated, especially if they are at home with someone. I used the time for consolidation to focus on personal development and training for our staff. Using Zoom we discussed the situation in Penang and KL with staff and looked at the situation together,” he explains. Turning his attention to the business he found a good provider of online hearing tests. Then after training all his staff with the online hearing test the MCO finished, so it wasn’t needed anymore! “Business owners need to be flexible to adapt and overcome,” Kieran explains adding, “Business picked up but then there was a false announcement of a Covid case in MidValley Mall, so people stayed away. The mall has taken every precaution to ensure the safety of its tenants, staff and customers so if you need to visit us” Kieran says, “you can now find parking easily at Mid Valley!”