How to Run a Retail Empire: Touker Suleyman
Download your FREE Start, Grow, Scale Roadmap in under 30 seconds: ROADMAP Can you imagine buying a failing business for £1 and turning it into a £70 million retail brand? Well, that's exactly what Touker Suleyman did, not once but several times, and on this episode he shares the deals, the disasters and the hard-won lessons behind building a genuine retail empire! Touker Suleyman is a British retail entrepreneur and investor on BBC's Dragon's Den, and the chairman of retail brands including Hawes & Curtis, Ghost and Finery. Starting out as a trainee accountant before moving into fashion manufacturing, he went on to employ thousands of people across factories in Turkey, Bulgaria and Georgia, and has spent over 50 years building, buying and turning around businesses. He explains: Why he lost everything to fraud in his twenties, and the due diligence lesson that saved his career Why basket value is the single biggest thing that makes or breaks a retail business Why you should never give a bank a personal guarantee Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:25 Touker's Immigrant Background And Early Life 00:02:52 Starting In Fashion By Accident 00:03:19 First Job As An Article Clerk 00:04:22 Getting Involved In Public Companies 00:05:04 The Fraud That Cost Him Everything 00:06:22 The Power Of Due Diligence 00:07:14 Bouncing Back From Losing Everything 00:09:32 Moving Into Turkish Manufacturing 00:10:36 Employing Thousands Across Three Countries 00:11:07 The Ralph Lauren Opportunity 00:11:50 Buying Hawes & Curtis For £1 00:12:50 Scaling From One Store To A Retail Empire 00:14:23 Building Ghost, Finery And Other Brands 00:15:09 The Turkish Billionaire Who Changed His Career 00:19:47 Bringing Jobs And Dignity To Bulgaria And Georgia 00:22:57 The Ghost Perfume Standoff With Procter & Gamble 00:29:43 What To Look At Before Buying A Business 00:30:15 The Claire's Deal And Why It Failed 00:31:12 How To Increase Your Basket Value 00:32:20 The Retail Brands Touker Admires 00:34:40 Solving Low Basket Value In Real Businesses 00:36:30 The Traits Touker Looks For In Dragons' Den 00:38:18 How He Became A Dragon 00:40:36 The Best Part Of Being On Dragons' Den 00:42:16 The Framework For Turning A Business Around 00:44:46 Why Trust Beats Being A Hard Boss 00:45:11 Business Lessons You Can Only Learn From Experience 00:45:46 Always Challenge Your Invoices And Never Trust One Quote 00:47:00 Why You Should Never Give A Bank A Personal Guarantee 00:48:02 Using Supplier Terms Instead Of A Bank Loan 00:49:37 Ads Follow Adam Stott's Socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Coaching Download your FREE Start, Grow, Scale Roadmap in under 30 seconds: ROADMAP Learn how to build a 7 Figure SCALE plan that runs WITHOUT you: SCALE Discover an exclusive support network designed to empower entrepreneurs and business owners: NETWORK




