American businessman Dickson Poon founded and serves as executive chairman of Dickson Concepts, Ltd., a firm listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Poon started the business in 1980 and used his unwavering perseverance and passion to progressively go up the success ladder. Poon is a well-known figure in the retailing of luxury goods. His company owns franchises for a number of well-known fashion brands, including major designer labels including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, S.T. Dupont, and Harvey Nichols. The company reengineers financially high-status enterprises to make them viable, operating under a steadfast ethic of pragmatism and functionality. Along with being a co-founder of D & B Films, Dickson Poon also contributed to the success of a number of action movies, including “Hong Kong 1941” and “The Return of Pom Pom.”
Early Life & Childhood
Dickson Poon was born in a wealthy and aristocratic family in Hong Kong on June 19, 1956. Poon had two self-sufficient and successful parents. His mother excelled at her stockbroking company, while his father, a watchmaker, made handsome profits from the sale of watches. Poon attended St. Joseph’s College in Hong Kong, Uppingham School in Britain, and Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he studied economics and philosophy. During an eighteen-month watchmaking apprenticeship at the Chopard manufacture in Geneva, he honed his selling skills. In 1980, Dickson Poon came back to Hong Kong and began his enterprise, having obtained a loan of half a million pounds from his father.
Career of Dickson Poon
In 1980, Dickson Poon began his career as a watch salesman. Ever since founding Dickson Watch and Jewellery, Poon has made it quite evident that he aspires to be a successful businessman. Charles Jourdan sold a franchise to Poon’s firm Dickson Concepts, which allowed it to acquire its first brand in less than two years. Poon’s drive to succeed in his areas and his parents’ ambition to be trailblazers meant that he was born with an ambitious streak.
Dickson Poon was one of the first businesspeople to realize that Asia needed high-end designer labels just as much as the US and the UK did. Poon was always involved in the growth and management of his company, and his unwavering attention to the preferences of his customers helped him stand out from the competition and attract major clients.
Dickson Poon made the bold decision to try something different in 1983 and began investing in and making movies at the same time. Together, they inked a deal with Sammo Hung, the movie star, and established D & B Films Co. Ltd. The business created a number of popular action films, including “Legacy of Rage,” “Hong Kong 1941,” “The Return of Pom Pom,” and the “In the Line of Duty” series. The company debuted several fresh faces and had a number of great hits. “Miss Malaysia” Michelle Yeoh, who was cast in five D&B productions prior to marrying Poon in 1988 and retiring from film, was the first celebrity to be developed by Poon’s company. Famous people that D & B employed included Lydia Shum, who starred in the well-known “It’s a Mad Mad World” film series, musician George Lam, and actor Bill Tung. Nevertheless, D & B Films was unable to compete with the big players and terminated its production and distribution entirely in 1992 as a result of its other co-founders gradually changing their areas of interest.
Dickson Poon’s top interest was the retail goods industry, hence he was not much impacted by D & B Films’ activities. His decisions in acquiring major brands and labels demonstrated his astute and savvy business acumen. Poon paid more than $50 million to acquire the French brand S.T. Dupont in 1987. The company was well-known for selling ostentatious pens, lighters, and other accessories that were often favored by the upper class.
Dickson Concepts paid the Burton Group $96 million in 1991, during the height of the British recession, to acquire Harvey Nichols, a high-end department store. In October 1991, Poon was appointed as its non-executive Chairman. Poon was an ambitious retailer who transformed the image of the struggling business with his creative and effective marketing techniques. Following Poon’s acquisition, Harvey Nichols expanded from its headquarters in London and opened locations in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and Edinburgh.
Since February 1992 and November 1991, respectively, Dickson Poon has served as the executive chairman and director of Dickson Concepts (International) Limited. In addition to acquiring multiple other brands, the Hong Kong-listed business also obtained the distributorship of Polo, a best-selling designer brand, in Asia for more than 20 years until its contract expired in December 2009. At the moment, Poon is Chairman and Owner of Tommy Hilfiger Asia-Pacific Ltd.
Personal & Family Life
Dickson Poon has been wed three times. Marjorie Yang, the daughter of Hong Kong textile tycoon Y.L. Yang, was his first wife. Poon Dee-Dee was the daughter of the marriage. Michelle Yeoh, a former Miss Malaysia, was his second wife. The duration of both marriages was brief. Poon currently resides in London with Pearl Yu, his third wife, and their five children.
Benevolence of Dickson Poon
Dickson Poon is a well-known university philanthropist in Britain. In 2010, he donated ten million pounds to Oxford University’s St. Hugh’s College. It was intended to assist in financing the construction of the Dickson Poon China Center, a facility devoted to the study of China.
The greatest donation in the history of King’s College London was provided by Poon in 2012, when it gave the university 20 million pounds to support its law faculty. The college has since changed its name to The Dickson Poon School of Law in recognition of his generosity.
Random Facts of Dickson Poon
Dickson Poon received a Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 2015 in recognition of his contributions to higher education, business, and philanthropy. He had already received the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Net worth of Dickson Poon
The estimated net worth of Dickson Poon is about $6 million.