BENNO LEESER: “RUNNING A FAMILY BUSINESS IS A PARTY”

What was your dream before?

“With the Champions League on the Coolsingel. I also played football myself. There is a team photo of the A1 of AFC on my desk. That year we beat Ajax three times. In total I played 93 matches in the first team of AFC. I mainly relied on my commitment and leadership qualities – I was often captain. FC Amsterdam once showed interest in me, but in the end I did not become a professional football player.”

When did you know you wanted to follow in your grandfather's footsteps?

“At the very last minute. I was going to become an assistant buyer at Bijenkorf. I had to sign there for a period of at least five years, because my father had a fashion store and was therefore competitive. I thought five years was far too long. At that time my parents were getting divorced and I wanted nothing to do with my father's second wife – she was not my dream role model. So working in my father's business was not an obvious choice. At that moment my grandfather said: 'I have no succession.' He only had one daughter, she was a lawyer and later became vice president of the Amsterdam court. She has been a commissioner at GASSAN since 1959, but it was not her intention to succeed her father. I told my grandfather that I wanted to try it for a year, but that I should be able to say goodbye without any family drama if I didn't like it. And now, 47 years later, here we are.”

Did you ever visit your grandfather in the grinding shop when you were young?

“Yes, but more to raise money so that I could take the train to Feyenoord on Sunday. When I was with him, he loved to share his life lessons with me. For example, he said that it was better to fly first class because then you would come into contact with the right people. And that it was better to stay in the good hotels, because there were potential customers there. I also remember some of his expressions, such as: 'A cow that gives a lot of milk but kicks over the bucket with its hind legs is of no use.' In other words: you won't get anywhere if you sell a lot and don't raise the money. My grandfather was a fantastic salesman. He liked it best when he had purchased something incorrectly and still managed to resell it at a favorable price. Now everything used to be easier. In the late 1970s we did a lot of wholesale with France. We actually sold a lot of diamonds then. Later, with the introduction of automation, orders became much more precise so that no stock was left over.”

What do you have in common with your grandfather?

“I am also a real salesman. Only he was more of a soloist and I think much more from the organization.”

When did your mother tell you about the family's war history?

“My daughter and my brother talk to my mother about that more than I do. Extensive war stories are not for me. I don't want to hear that. I push that aside a bit, out of self-protection.”

You started in the business in 1973, then still on the Nieuwe Achtergracht. What did your duties consist of?

“I did everything. I worked with the attorney at the cash register, where, among other things, the daily revenues were administered. I went to Antwerp and Tel Aviv to buy with diamond buyer Simon Kroonenberg. I sometimes sat in the office sorting diamonds. And I made the budgets with the financial director, which turned out to be reasonably correct after six months. My grandfather didn't understand that much, because he was not one for budgets, he was more of a man of adventure.”

On July 4, 1983, your grandfather died. What was it like losing him?

“In terms of health, he was in bad shape. He became a heart patient at a fairly young age and later also became a kidney patient. The last year and a half of his life he had to undergo dialysis twice a week. That was debilitating for him. So it wasn't completely unexpected.”

Were you ready to lead the company together with your brother Guy?

“On my desk there is a photo of Mr. Delsing, the then director of the Dutch Credit Bank. In 1973 he became a supervisory director of the company to guide me. My grandfather had said very wisely: 'I am too chauvinistic to judge my grandson.' That's why he wanted to leave it to an outsider. Yes, when are you ready? That's hard to say. But Mr. Delsing thought I was ready. And I really felt the urge to continue the company. My brother joined the company in 1980 after attending Columbia University. My grandfather initiated us to have an office in New York, GASSAN USA. He set this up with Fred Gehring, the later boss of Tommy Hilfiger.”

How did things progress with GASSAN USA?

“Guy ran that office until 2011. Only he had no family in the company and I did. So at a certain point it made sense to buy him out, because it made it easier for me to arrange the succession. The funny thing is that his son now works in the diamond trade. We still have an office address in the USA, so we still do some things together.”

The year you took over the company, you married Kitty Weers. How would you characterize her role within GASSAN?

“Very essential. I have always learned that behind a man there is a woman and that is certainly the case with me. Kitty and I are truly a duo. Before we were married, she had worked for quite some time with the attorney with whom I had started. She shifted from working in the greenhouse to helping customers. She is also much more patient with customers than I am. Ultimately, Kitty became the person responsible for everything related to the image of the company, from the shop windows to the magazine.”

What do you like most about entrepreneurship?

“It is of course nice to have success, then everything becomes easier. The funny thing is that we often work even better in bad times, because in good times you run the risk of that
you become a bit nonchalant. During the corona period, we have said from day one: we will remain open and ensure that we are even more positive than we normally do. In May we communicated the worst scenarios to banks and ourselves, and we started working from there. We all do that together and we are succeeding. That is because a certain strategy has been put in place, that is the great thing about entrepreneurship.”

We've discussed the highs, there have also been lows. Does the experience you gained then help in your current situation?

“With the diamond heist in 2001 we knew where we stood, SARS was more difficult because we did not know where it ended. That is also the biggest problem: when will things get back to normal? Nobody knows. But it does make you more professional as a leader.”

During the first wave you talked about a turnover loss of 80 or even
90 percent. What are those numbers like now?

“Singapore is still at minus 90; In terms of passengers, Schiphol rose to minus 65 in July-August, but last week (mid-October; ed.) it dropped again to minus 81. At Schiphol we have a turnover of minus 40 to 45 percent. So, proportionally, we are doing very well. The number of visitors to the factory has fallen by 93 percent. If we have sold quite well on a Saturday and I drive away in the afternoon and see an empty parking lot, my heart cries.”

What is selling 'quite well' these days?

“We have been very active on the Dutch market for years, and sales are currently going well there. People don't travel, spend little, have money left over... To make life a little more fun, they buy something nice. We turn that moment into an experience.”

75 years of GASSAN. What does that do to you?

“Beautiful milestone. It's a shame, of course, that we were unable to continue with most of the festivities. But it is what it is. Of course I look back in a year like this, but more importantly I think: What will it be?”

And, what will it be?

“It couldn't be worse than a visitor number of minus 93 percent. Would Schiphol go back to minus 90? I really hope that something will happen again.”

You turned 65 last summer. What else do you want?

“I sometimes joke: I ultimately want GASSAN to become bigger than Cartier.”

Is that possible?

"No. But you must have something to wish for.”