“After 45 years of work, a good many of them in the travel retail industry, I have finally decided it’s time to do something entirely different.” So says Jonathan Holland, the passionate and ebullient Founder & Managing Director of Jonathan Holland & Associates in Singapore.
After a long and successful career in the channel, the popular, much-respected and quintessential Englishman – known affectionately to many as ‘Chaps’ – is retiring today.
The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie caught up with Jonathan as he prepares to pursue a wide range of interests in the good company of his wife Eleen. [Edited by Colleen Morgan]
What made this the right time to step away from business?
Jonathan Holland: After all these years of working, many of them within travel retail, I feel it’s time to do something else with my life. I’ve been thinking about it for some time but my problem has always been finding the right time to leave.
In our industry, there are constant developments which have always drawn me in, kept me immersed and involved in the channel. For instance, at present in China, even in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic, there are novel developments, new business opportunities and regulations in domestic duty free which certainly are exciting and productive.
However, ‘time and tide wait for no man’. I needed to get on and start the bucket list of other interesting things I wish to do and enjoy while still active and healthy.
Frankly, I have been reflecting on it for the past few years so the plan has not changed. In fact, an opportunity to retire came four years ago. But when Dr. Jart+ approached me to establish their business in travel retail; I fell right back into the excitement of building another brand from scratch. So I continued.
This new retirement date has now been finalised to coincide with the hand over the Dr. Jart+ business to the Estée Lauder Companies. Purely coincidental but propitious timing that it was during this COVID-19 pandemic that Estée Lauder’s offer crystallised.
Do you plan to remain in Singapore?
The plan is to remain in Asia as I have been based in this region for the past 42 years. More specifically, yes, I want to stay in Singapore as this has been my home for the past 38 years. I have been here in Asia since being posted to Hong Kong in the Royal Navy as the Gunnery Officer of HMS Yarnton, one of the ships in the Hong Kong Squadron, back in 1978.
Let’s turn the clocks back a bit. What sparked your involvement in travel retail?
After finishing my five-year commission in the Navy, I decided that Asia was my future and started looking for a suitable role. After 18 months of working in Hong Kong for a Japanese video game company, I found a position with Rothmans International. I was based in Singapore and managing the Indian Sub-continent duty free business. So that started a fascinating nine years.
Tell us about those years; your travels and the countries and experiences that made an impact on you.
I went to some weird and wonderful places, travelling around the region incessantly and getting myself into all sorts of interesting situations. It certainly was an eye-opener and having the exuberance of youth I was quite fearless. It’s not an understatement to say that airport duty free in the Sub-Continent was not quite what it is today. But that was exactly what made it fascinating, exciting and a lot of fun.
The countries I would visit regularly (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma and the Maldives) were so different from one another. But, there was one common factor: the warmth of the people. I watched families of my customers grow up, attended weddings of many different ethnic groups and religions, and was constantly involved in parties and dinners.
I learnt about life, politics, economics and many regional issues. It really was all new, surprising, unpredictable and, in some cases, astonishing. Exciting days but not for the faint hearted!
Everything and everyone was more accessible in those days too. I would find myself in dinner parties with professionals and politicians one day, and, the very next, at the home of a warehouse staff member with their family having a wonderful homemade curry.
Nine years with Rothmans International before moving into the cosmetics & fragrances category – that was quite a shift.
I actually fell into the cosmetics category by accident. Totally unplanned but it turned out to be one of the most important decisions I made in my career.
I went from running around servicing duty free customers across the Indian Sub-continent to becoming the Global Key Account Manager for Elizabeth Arden for DFS, the most professional group in our industry at that time (and perhaps still is).
I found myself in a completely new category of which I had no knowledge. And what a wonderful transition it was too. The five years I spent in that role were perhaps the most productive I ever experienced in terms of learning about retail in the duty free and travel retail industry.
All thanks to the time spent with DFS and their executives across their global network. It was a magnificent learning ground.
You were responsible for domestic markets too, right?
Yes, I was sent to Korea to rebuild the Elizabeth Arden business in 1997/98, a time which encompassed the Asian financial crisis. With the help of Unilever (Elizabeth Arden’s owners at that time) Korea I was able to restructure the company there. This led to me heading up the Elizabeth Arden Asia Pacific business for domestic and duty free, where more restructures were required.
I was wearing all the hats, licking the stamps and counting the pennies. But I knew it could only go one way if the brands and the fundamentals were fine and we persevered. And I was right.
And then in 2004, after 22 years with multinational companies, you decided to set up your own business?
Yes, that’s right. It was a bit like stepping into the unknown; an all-consuming challenge which was scary on the one hand, but exhilarating and fulfilling on the other. There were countless uncertainties and always issues on every front to handle. I was wearing all the hats, licking the stamps and counting the pennies. But I knew it could only go one way if the brands and the fundamentals were fine and we persevered. And I was right.
Tell us about the early days of Jonathan Holland & Associates and the challenges.
We were fortunate to start with a mature business in the Lancaster Group – with fragrances such as Davidoff, Jennifer Lopez and others – which helped us pay all the bills in the first two ‘honeymoon’ years. Once they merged with Calvin Klein, and no longer required an agent, that’s when things got difficult and anxiety-ridden.
We struggled in years three and four and became involved in both domestic and duty free markets just to help the bottom line. At one stage, it was all about critical mass as we secured over 20 brands in our portfolio for the region; some achieved positive sales, others did not.
It was the same in getting paid by principals. Some did pay and others didn’t. It was truly hard work and long hours but this strategy of putting ourselves out there worked in getting JH&A’s name into the market quickly.
On joining the commercial world, DFS had a huge impact on me. During the five years with the company and Elizabeth Arden, I learnt a huge amount about retail management and development from the best there were.
Can you identify the turning points in your career?
The first would be opting to serve my first Royal Navy posting in the Hong Kong Squadron after being awarded my commission.
Second, being picked up by Elizabeth Arden from Rothmans International. And, probably best of all, starting my own company and persuading Lancaster to hire JH&A the company rather than me personally.
They had offered me a regional role but having Lancaster from the get-go allowed us to establish JH&A much faster than I had anticipated.
And the biggest influences throughout your career?
Again, initially, the Royal Navy because they have the best training structure to build discipline, perseverance and drive. One is put into very serious positions of responsibility at a young age; one learns to make the most effective decisions even in times of stress. Besides military and maritime skills, life with the navy meant I developed essential life skills – leadership, people management, teamwork – which have helped me navigate my career and entrepreneurial pursuits since.
On joining the commercial world, DFS had a huge impact on me. During the five years with the company and Elizabeth Arden, I learnt a huge amount about retail management and development from the best there were.
Obviously, working for different international companies over the years provided me with a strong global perspective. And being immersed in different parts of Asia allowed me to navigate business life amongst the diverse cultures in this region.
Eleen, my wife, has always been a wonderful supporter and has cheered me on my entrepreneurial path from the very beginning. Besides frequently being involved in preparing major pitches for new business, she has been my sounding board for the business. In fact, it was she who suggested proposing to Lancaster to hire JH&A.
The greatest inspirations in your life and career?
My first was my Royal Navy Captain. He was an erudite leader, a man of integrity who could always handle a situation, however difficult, in a calm, efficient and powerful way which always commanded respect and loyalty from anyone who came into contact with him.
Following on into the travel retail world there have been countless exceptional individuals who have impressed and inspired me.
Yourself Martin, after everything that has been thrown at you over the past 20 years: health issues, company issues, personal issues et al. Colm McLoughlin for what he has built and achieved in the ever-changing Dubai travel retail landscape; Susan Whelan in helping to lead King Power to the amazing success they have achieved in the past years and then being heavily instrumental in what has been achieved at Leicester City Football Club.
Simon Chiang in building Everrich in Taiwan and look at how philanthropic they have become; Charles Chen from China Duty Free Group & CITS and his leading role in driving CDFG to the heights of the industry within China and internationally. And the list goes on…
What is it that you love about travel retail?
I think it’s the cut and thrust of the travel retail business and, of course, the people; friendships and lasting relationships all around the world. I truly enjoy attending the trade shows in different parts of the world where everyone comes together. The strong sense of camaraderie amongst the travel retail trade is just so special and energising. It is one of the highlights which I will miss very much.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the travel retail industry?
They need detail in execution as well as issue resolution; passion to succeed; strong perseverance; in-depth market and brand knowledge, strong networking skills and the ability to retain relationships.
I would advise them to surround themselves with a strong team. I have been fortunate in getting the right people on my team over the years working in multinational corporations and, in particular, in JH&A. I have worked with some excellent team members and I am very grateful to these hard-working and committed individuals.
And your advice to any prospective entrepreneur looking to start their own business?
Have a good concept/business model, be prepared to work hard, control the profit and loss closely, and recruit loyal, positive, hard-working and trustworthy staff with a strong element of integrity.
You have been closely involved with the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA). Tell us about that side of your life.
I have been an APTRA member for 12 years and served on the Board for the past eight years.
The Association has come a long way since starting 15 years ago and is now a significant entity within the Asia Pacific territory, helping to assist the industry in advocacy, knowledge and networking as well as defending it when necessary country to country. I’m proud and honoured to have been part of it.
What do you regard as the greatest challenges in your career?
There are two: starting my own company from scratch and deciding to leave the industry.
You’ve worked through some major crises over the years: the Asian financial crisis, 9/11, SARS, terrorism, global recession and now COVID-19. The latest must rank as far the worst?
Undoubtedly. It’s going to take a long time for the traffic to return but, who knows. There are so many uncertainties. Look at how governments are handling and controlling the pandemic, currently not in a unified, consistent way. Look at the transmission rates, vaccine roll-out timings, possible natural immunity in the future, effective safety measures for travel, border controls, airlines in trouble. The list is endless.
Changing the way we do business may be inevitable. Already we see markets evolving, for example in China. They are quickly developing their own domestic travel retail business within China and it is growing at a phenomenal rate. So essentially the Chinese travel retail industry is not losing out as much.
I am sure that we will continue to see many other positive changes post-pandemic as we have always seen after other major crises. Then there is the current omnichannel experience and digital business development happening at breakneck speed coupled with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) innovation and artificial intelligence (AI) applications which will definitely take us all on to the next level.
However, as we all know too well, some of the difficult arguments of 30 or 40 years ago are still being drawn out today. Subjects such as ‘killing the goose that lays the golden egg’ – an expression referring to the ever-increasing margin demands from the duty free operators. I first heard it used in this industry when Patrick Moran – a very well-known and prominent liquor company executive in the duty free industry for many years, now sadly passed away – coined it perfectly in a symposium presentation he gave back in the 80s.
Also, it is all self-inflicted when airport concessions are bid and awarded at excessive rates. We’ve seen a lot of it since the turn of the century and it may not go away any time soon.
But who knows? Things evolve, and if social distancing is the new normal for individuals, then the bricks and mortar part of travel retail and airport concessions may also restructure to a new normal.
What about the highs and lows in the industry over the years?
There have been numerous changes over the years but the wonderful positive spirit of the people involved in it has remained constant.
The highs have come as businesses has developed through the growth of new nationalities into the mix. For instance, in the early days it was all about the Japanese. Then came growth out of Taipei, followed by the Koreans before the amazing advance of the Chinese PRC who have set our industry alight over the past ten years. There’s a long future ahead with all these nationalities.
The lows have occurred through natural disasters, recessions, financial crises, 9/11-type terrorist activity or diseases such as SARS and COVID-19. All these issues have overwhelming negative impact on our industry but it has always come back even stronger than before.
I have been fortunate in getting the right people on my team over the years working in multinational corporations and, in particular, in JH&A. I have worked with some excellent team members and I am very grateful to these hard-working and committed individuals.
What plans do you have for the future?
There are many plans. Travel first. Having had a lifetime of business travel since leaving school in 1975, I want to now enjoy leisure travel with my wife Eleen post COVID-19. Perhaps spending longer periods in interesting destinations to really experience the culture, food and language in a much deeper sense.
We want to do this while we are physically still able to travel. There have certainly been lively discussions between the two of us drawing up our bucket list of future explorations. Drive trips across different parts of the US; visits to more South American countries; longer stays in France and Italy; explore Morocco, Egypt, Oman, Japan and sailing again across the Mediterranean… to mention just a few ideas.
Watching international sport live, especially rugby, cricket and Formula 1, has been and will remain a big part of my life. I still plan to travel to sporting events around the world. And, for the entertainment value, I will still play golf with friends both at home and internationally.
Through a good friend here in Singapore, I have developed a new interest in vintage cars and participating in international rallies. I’m looking forward to taking that a step further.
Having been involved in brands from a a very young age with my family’s company, Hollands Toffee, and considering the many brands I have represented over the years, I’m also interested in doing a bit of brand ‘archaeology’. This will purely be as a hobby and for personal enjoyment.
I would like to research selected family-owned brands around the world, even some of the defunct ones. It would be interesting to learn about their heritage; delve deeper into how they had developed, why they fell apart.
As a start, I would love to rediscover Hollands Toffee, to reacquaint with my family’s heritage and to reminisce about the days when I used to help at the toffee-cutting machine. Perhaps also to mull about the what ifs… what if the family had not sold out?
And, of course, the what ifs in the rugby world. Will the England rugby side ever see RWC glory again in my lifetime? I have a huge interest there and hope and believe they can with the right leadership, coaching and mental backbone. The resources are there in depth, they just must be managed and coached correctly.
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