by Dr. Iain
Corness
One
of the driving forces behind the new Cash Converters in Pattaya is Simon
Hirst. He is a man who has lived all over the world, but has chosen
Thailand to be his home. It could be said that he ‘oiled’ his way
here, but that would be too simple an explanation. He is also one of the
‘lucky’ people to have been saluted with an AK 47 fusillade.
Simon is English, having been born in London. He came
from a medical family, with Hirst Senior a GP (and two of his siblings
also went into medicine). However, Simon was not at all attracted to the
family craft. “I knew I didn’t want to do medicine, having had to put
up with gross (medical) conversations, while father carved the roast for
Sunday lunch.”
Good schools were the order of the day, and though he
wanted to head towards a career in business, he went to Reading University
to study history. “I did history because I liked it,” said Simon
simply.
By the time he was 21 he was out of university and it
was time to enter the business world. He chose the BP Oil Company, taking
a position in retail marketing, looking after the many petrol outlets. BP
is also a world company, and in it, the young Simon was to see the world.
“Denmark, USA, South Korea and Thailand,” were the first countries to
roll off his tongue. However, it was the latter country, that in 1988
changed his life.
“I decided to stop moving around. I met my future
wife (Khun Ahm), quit BP and stayed here.” However, it was still
necessary to have cash coming in, so he took a job as the marketing
manager for a shoe company based here, but did not enjoy it as his sole
means of support. He quit that one too.
His forte was in the oil business, so he set himself as
a private consultant in retail marketing for the burgeoning oil company
expansion that was happening in Thailand at that time. He ran this very
successfully for four years up until 1966, at which time he could see the
market beginning to ‘bubble’. This was not the time to be without
‘company backing’, so he joined the Shell Company as general manager
for retail operations in the Eastern Zone.
He described his “Eastern Zone” responsibilities,
and it sounded like half the planet. 11 time zones from one side to
another, starting in Oman and going right the way through Pakistan,
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Noumea and New Caledonia. “It was exciting
at first. Seeing such things as a petrol station guard in Pakistan firing
his AK 47 in the air because he was pleased to see me!” Certainly not
the standard British way of greeting superiors.
But there was a downside too. “70 percent of my time
was spent in hotels or on planes. I had two kids aged eight and ten, and I
thought to myself, I can’t keep doing this.” So after seven and a half
years he left the company of Shell. That was eight months ago and time to
find something new.
Something new was a fledgling company in Thailand
called Cash Converters. He had seen an investment opportunity in this
business which was being franchised from Australia and since he could feel
that their first outlet would work, decided it was time to invest. He
could see the business should go through a phase of expansion, “So I
decided to run it myself.” The new outlet in Pattaya is part of that
expansion.
I asked Simon just what was the difference between his
operation and the well entrenched pawnshops. “It’s a totally different
market,” said Simon. “The goods they take to the pawnshop they want to
get back again. They are often of sentimental value. Our target market is
different. They come to sell goods they don’t need anymore, for many,
many reasons. We buy in order to sell the goods on again.” His
background in retail marketing helps him, he feels. “You have to control
cost, inventory and loss, and this business is similar.”
The business reason is not the first time Simon has
come to Pattaya, having joined the Royal Varuna Yacht Club many years ago.
Yachting was a boyhood interest, and these days he sails in the Hobie Cat
class, though admitting that he is not looking to win a world
championship. His two boys also have the sailing bug and compete in the
Optimist class. The other reason he used to visit Pattaya was for the
golf, and he plays off a handicap of 12. “My golf is better than my
sailing. I’m always last!”
I asked Simon what it was that attracted him to the
Kingdom. “Thailand’s quality of life in all aspects,” he replied.
“I love the nature of Thai people. It can be confusing, but I like it.
They have a different approach to life that is appealing. There is the
physical side of life too. The weather, the countryside, the culture.
There’s no earthquakes. There’s good health care and good education
and a relatively low cost of living. Compare Thailand to New York, Los
Angeles or London, other places that I’ve lived in.” Since he was
preaching to the converted (as opposed to the ‘cash converted’) it
needed no comment from me.
Just in case you think Simon now has an easy life, he
is still working a minimum of 80 hours a week, and never misses an
opportunity to sell (or should I say, retail market?). As I finished the
interview and began to walk out I mentioned I needed to buy a baby seat
for the car for my new daughter. “This is what you need,” said Simon,
showing me an almost pristine example. I left with my bargain, and Simon
said goodbye with a smile.
Simon Hirst is a man who will do well in Pattaya!
