Don Lewin Explained

Donald John Lewin OBE (born 11 June 1933) is a British businessman. He is the founder and former chairman of Clinton Cards, a chain of greeting cards shops in the United Kingdom. He and his family were estimated to be worth £139 million in 2008.

Biography

Lewin was born on 11 June 1933 in Bow, London, the son of a chimney sweep.[1] [2] After leaving school at the age of 15, he worked for a building firm, did two years of National Service, sold brushes from door to door, sold credit and, when he was 26, got a job as a freelance salesman selling greeting cards to retailers.[3]

In 1968, he opened a specialist greeting card shop in Epping, Essex, and created the company Clinton Cards, named after his son, Clinton. He opened a chain of seven shops, five of which he then sold to reinvest in larger shops in better locations. By 1988, he had created a chain of 87 shops and floated the company on the stock exchange for a valuation of £20 million, retaining 50 per cent of the shares and using money raised to acquire rival greeting cards chains.

By 2004, the company had 800 shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland, was valued at £180 million on the London Stock Exchange and had sales of £360 million.[4] The family stake in the business, share sales and other assets were estimated to be worth £139 million in 2008.[5] In 2012, the business had 767 shops and employed 8,000 people but went into administration later that year.[6] Lewin was made an OBE in 1996 and his autobiography, Think of a Card, was published in 2008.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Bridge, Rachel. [{{GBurl| oOZaOIm4N8wC |p=146}} My Big Idea: 30 Successful Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Found Inspiration ]. Kogan Page Publishers . London . 2006. 978-0-7494-4626-0 . 146–149 . 64688681 . 1 February 2020.
  2. Web site: From sweeping chimneys to £100m fortune . The Times . 1 September 2020 . 10 May 2012 . subscription . https://archive.today/20200901142014/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-sweeping-chimneys-to-pound100m-fortune-mc563t6ptdp. 1 September 2020 .
  3. News: Playing his cards right . Parker Pat. April 2009. Essex Life. Archant. 65–67 . 1 September 2020 . https://archive.today/20200901020853/https://www.essexlifemag.co.uk/people/playing-his-cards-right-1-1633836 . 1 September 2020 .
  4. News: How I Made It: Don Lewin, founder of Clinton Cards. Bridge. Rachel. 24 October 2004. The Sunday Times. News International Limited. 2009-02-07 . subscription.
  5. Web site: Don Lewin and family . The Sunday Times . 1 September 2020 . 27 April 2008 . subscription.
  6. Web site: Walsh . Kate . US firm rescues Clinton Cards . The Sunday Times . 1 September 2020 . 3 June 2012 . subscription.
  7. Web site: Clinton cards celebrates 40 years . Essex Life . 1 September 2020 . 16 December 2008 . https://archive.today/20200901033627/https://www.essexlifemag.co.uk/people/celebrity-interviews/clinton-cards-celebrates-40-years-1-1632844 . 1 September 2020.