VIN LEE

POWERHOUSE GLOBAL MAGAZINE (PGMAG) EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH:

VIN LEE (VL)

PGMAG: Vin Lee, so good to have you on today’s interview with Lady Anita.

VL: Thank you so much for your kind invitation. It is an honor to meet you Lady Anita and to be featured in your fine publication Powerhouse Global Magazine. I am a big admirer.

PGMAG: The last two years has been a ‘wake up’ call for the world due to the pandemic (covid-19) As one of the change makers in the global market, how would you describe the impact of the pandemic and some of the lessons learned from this global change?

VL: I think many people have realized how vulnerable we are as a society socially, financially, and emotionally. I have not ever publicly voiced my political views as they are not pertinent to our business. But it has become a pandemic unto its own that politics has seeped into every aspect of life across the planet dividing people in yet another way.

PGMAG: As a global influencer, what are the key factors of building a sustainable business?

VL: Grand Metropolitan has been around for several decades. Most of our almost 100 portfolio brands have been around for longer than a century and become leaders in their respective industries and communities. I can only take partial credit for continuing the relationships our many founders had established with consumers and within their businesses.

PGMAG: Our research shows us a man who has worked extremely hard to get to where he is today What is your prediction for the future in terms of business growth and relevance in the global market.

VL:

I was very fortunate to have been surrounded by a great many people that supported me as a teen. They helped create situations and introductions that made success at an early age very easy.

Our brand portfolio maintains leadership positions in their respective categories. We have the largest privately-held jewelry group and home furnishing groups in North America. Transitioning from a brick & mortar footprint of over 5,000 locations to a digital platform enables us to capitalize on our talents and quality of service worldwide.

PGMAG: The wind of change is ever present in our pursuit of purpose. What are some of the steps you have taken to overcome adversity as an industrial leader?

VL: Much of our growth over the last three decades has been in the position of white knight to failing enterprises. This has enabled us to come into an operation with limited overhead and eliminated debt service and save jobs while preserving the brands integrity. Our overall enterprise revenue has topped $250 billion across almost two centuries. I refuse to borrow funds to close acquisitions. So that we start from day 1 cash flow positive. Most of our predecessors were able to achieve great scale and name brand recognition on a national level as a result of relaxed credit terms throughout the 1970s-1990s. Eventually the time came to pay the piper, this coupled with recession and a pandemic destroyed hundreds of companies that were institutions across America.

During these down periods we took great efforts to support our staff and vendors. This way our supply chain always prioritized our operations and we never lost any of our talented management to competitors. In addition, because of our financial strengths, we never had to pivot our business model to fashionable risky trends. As an example, in the jewelry industry many retailers found themselves becoming "pawn brokers" for precious metals begging customers to sell them their old gold in a way to increase foot traffic and cash flow during down markets. It tarnished the image of many fine jewelry establishments. More recently the pandemic has caused jewelers to add Lab-Grown Diamonds to their inventory mix as a way of shoring up low cost inventory. We refuse to participate in this product offering at this time.

PGMAG: What is your message for world leaders?

VL: To be honest I am not a sociologist or economist. There is so much I do not understand about the leadership of several countries.

I was raised to be a competitor. No one taught me that the world was a team sport. You work hard and do your best to care for your family and friends.

I really believe that one of the biggest problems in our society today is people not keeping their eyes on their own plate. There is too much entitlement going on with individuals seeing on social media how other people life and feeling they deserve that too. What makes it worse is that it has begun to compound to where those wanting a better life have morphed into just wanting everyone to not have anything together.

PGMAG: Let’s talk about ‘Grand Metropolitan’- very inspiring I must say So, who is ‘Vin Lee’ what inspired him to build such a huge portfolio of business with over 60 luxury brands around the world?

VL: Thank you. That's very kind of you to say. But certainly I cannot take the credit for what Grand Metropolitan has grown to be. There are so many talented people that help to keep the lights on each and every day. As I had previously mentioned I had an early start that brought me into the perimeter of some of the world's most successful people in my 20s like billionaires A Alfred Taubman, Sumner Redstone, H. Wayne Huizanga. This was during the same years that Bernard Arnault started his takeover of LVMH and François-Henri Pinault created Kering (PPR). So it was very difficult not to become a voyeur of their efforts and successes.

Once you get a taste of that lifestyle, it becomes very difficult to settle for anything less. My parents had already provided me the background of fine art and introductions to horse back riding and F1 racing. My brother and I had very privileged childhoods in the manner of chauffeured coach vacations and private clubs. But the one thing more prominent than becoming a member is to be the one that owns the clubhouse.

PGMAG: What were the top three books that changed your life?

VL: I wish I could say I was more of a voracious reader. While I am constantly soaking up multiple screens and news sources, literature is not much a part of my current life. But I prefer business biographies and have a small collection on Howard Hughes.

1. The Fourth Estate 2. Cecil Rhodes 3. The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig

PGMAG: What keeps you motivated when you feel like giving up on your dreams?

VL:

I promise there have been hundreds of occasions where I felt like I was on the wrong path in life. Especially when my personal life took such a toll from all of the travel and distraction.

It was when I stopped fighting so hard to make my life a certain way that everything fell into place. Sometimes when you push and push towards something, taking a step back you realize the door you are trying to get through is actually a pull. I was finally able to reach my goal in my late 40s. And then magically we doubled in size and several of the deals I wanted badly finally happened.

I don't want to say that making your dreams come true all of a sudden makes you happy. At least it didn't for me. What it did do was make me realize how unhappy I had been for so long. I did not have enough balance in my life.

PGMAG: Just out of curiosity; how did you become so successful at such a young age?

VL:

At a young age I had a passion for animation and my high school art teacher facilitated an internship where I studied under a famed director for Hannah Barbera Studios.

During my junior year in high school I created a 3 minute film treatment that my tutor took to Lion's Den Studios in California. It eventually became a Saturday morning cartoon called Shamu & Friends.

It was suggested that the studio had a job waiting for me when I finished my animation degree in three years. During that time I was introduced to Hip Street Productions in Toronto that employed me as art director for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics doing graphics for tshirts, posters, and merchandise. I was 17 years old.

After the Olympics I started tinkering around with several designs and inventions. I was eventually awarded patents for a mechanical billboard that I designed for Blockbuster Video Stores. This would ultimately grow into a $6 billion a year industry. During this period I was moonlighting as a consultant and scored a 3 year, $50 million contract with the City of Detroit Pension Fund to bailout their $80 million investment in Grand Traverse Resort. It was with the first payment of this deal that I bought my first fine jewelry store for $800,000. I was 22 years old.

PGMAG: What would you say to your younger self?

VL:

If I knew then what I know now I would reassure myself that everything would work out fine. Marry the girl and buy stock in Apple, Facebook, and Tesla.

Then dump it all into Bitcoin and cash out. You will save yourself thirty years of heart ache and ultimately a heart attack and end up where you are anyway!

PGMAG: Finally, what does legacy mean to you?

VL: I have to draw the comparison to our legacy brands. In particular HeiligMeyers Furniture subsidiary Glick Furniture. One of the things that made Glick so successful, and grow quickly and move ahead and become the leading furniture company, was in 1913 there was a flood in Columbus. Thousands of people were left homeless. Their houses were flooded, the furniture was ruined. Many of those people were customers of our company who had purchased on credit. We ran an ad in the newspaper to make an announcement to all the good customers, to consider their bill paid in full. As soon as they got back on their feet, come in and pick out some more furniture, and we’d refinance the new purchase.

That gesture was so notarized, and it spread throughout the city, what the Glick Furniture Company did for its customers, that it just zoomed business tremendously. I wish to have a similar legacy someday. Remembered for the good we were able to do for our family, friends, and communities around the world.

PGMAG: Thank you for your time – much appreciated.

VL: I wish all the best wishes for you and your amazing publication PGMAG.

PGMAG: Please share your links with us.

VL: Here are my social links https://www.linkedin.com/in/ mrvinlee/

https://twitter.com/mrvinlee