Mr Kiam’s key to success

Press, 4 March 1987, Page 20

Mr Kiam’s key to success

By

NATALIE GRAHAM,

in London

The chief of the multi-billion dollar Remington company, Mr Victor Kiam, drives a car which has done more than 320,000 km and always flies tourist class. But it’s a far cry from the grubby-faced boy of nine who started his business selling bottles of Coca-Cola on the streets of Louisiana.

“I bought Cokes at three cents each and sold them for five cents. The problem was that some people could not afford the nickel, so I gave the drinks to them.

“At the end of the first month’s accounting I was not profitable, so my grandfather told me not to treat the business as a charity.” It was a lesson which he has borne to heart, yet he has not lost sight of his ideals as he has become more and more successful.

He says: “In business I look for

satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. When I started as a salesman, I never thought of the money. I said to myself, ‘lf I am going to spend most of my life working, I will do as’ good a job as I can.’ “What I was doing to fill my life was more important than money. Even today, when the company makes money, I reinvest it.”

He has been boss of Remington for eight years and now owns the company completely. “I have no partners, but everybody gets a percentage of the profits, including people who work in the factory.

“We are in ‘The Hundred Best Companies to work for in America.’ When you consider that we are the smallest one, alongside names like IBM, I get a great deal of satisfaction out of that.”

His golden touch extends to supporting others too. “I had faith in the fellow who was cutting my hair, so I backed him when he wanted to open his own business.

“Ten years later he had the opportunity to take over the shop in the Grand Hyatt, New York.”

How does Mr Kiam advise young people to get on in life? “I would save my money so I could do my own thing, even if it was opening up a news-stand, where I could be judged on my own merits.”

But for all his success, there’s one dream that will never come true. “I am a tennis fanatic and I have not won Wimbledon!” Still, he’s made his money serve him well.

Copyright — London Observer Service.