Clint Mahlman picks up a package of cereal at a Richmond London Drugs store and starts discussing one of the strategies that has helped the company, which started out in 1945 as a pharmacy, evolve into such a successful department store chain.
"We carry Cheerios like everyone else does, but we also have brands that you've probably not heard of before, or seen," Mahlman said while holding a vacuum-sealed package of Holy Crap cereal, which is made by a mom-and-pop business that started in Mahlman's hometown of Gibsons, B.C.
His enthusiasm for the product is palpable, as is his pride that London Drugs carries distinctive products made by local suppliers.
As the new non-family head of one of B.C.'s largest companies, Mahlman has big shoes to fill. Longtime president and CEO Wynne Powell went into semi-retirement in February, when he gave up responsibility for the department store but kept his role overseeing London Air Services and the Louie family's Sonora Resort.
Mahlman jokes that he will simply put on his work boots and make the best imprint he can.
Curiously, he has yet to ascend to the position of president and CEO of London Drugs. Owner Brandt Louie took those titles from Powell; Mahlman's position is executive vice-president and COO of the 78-store chain.
Queens University marketing professor Ken Wong told Business in Vancouver that he believes Louie's strategy in holding back from giving Mahlman the president's title right away is meant to motivate Mahlman by subtly implying that there is room to grow.
A similar strategy was in play with Powell, who was president of London Drugs for 11 years before Louie finally granted him the title of CEO.
"You have to separate the title from the responsibilities," said Wong, who teaches business strategy and has done some consulting for London Drugs. "I don't think that either Clint or Wynne, during his ascendancy to CEO, lacked the leverage and capacity to do whatever was required for the business."
Wong added that Mahlman's biggest strength is how well he works with people.
"You won't find anybody at London Drugs who resents Clint's promotion," Wong said. "I think you'll find a lot of people who would follow him up one side of the hill and down the other. They seem to like and respect him enough that they want to follow his lead."
Indeed, Mahlman has a way with his staff. An employee passes and greets him. Malhman addresses her by name when he returns the greeting. Later on, he calls across an aisle to greet another staff member by name.
Knowing each of Mahlman's 5,000 B.C. employees by name – or even the names of the 700 staff who work at the company's Richmond head office – is a near-impossible task, but he tries to know as many as possible.
"Most people who know me … would say I focus a lot on where the customer is going," he said. "I'm trying to think about what problems they have and solve the problems before they know they have them. So I tend to be extremely focused on the customer."
One thing that sets Mahlman apart from Powell is his approach to social media. Powell shunned Twitter, for example, but Mahlman views that platform as simply another way to engage with customers.
"My prime reason for being engaged on social media is that it's an excellent listening tool," he said.
"Customers have an expectation that, whether we like it or not, they can reach senior people virtually any time of day or night. Most customers and staff are extremely respectful of that, but if a customer contacts me, I personally deal with the problem."
Mahlman intends to continue investing heavily in e-commerce, which he segments out and considers a store. Investments will also be plowed into opening several more brick-and-mortar stores in the next few years, though none in B.C.
While growing up in Gibsons, the last thing Mahlman expected to do in life was climb the ladder of a retail chain. He worked on fishing boats, in logging operations and at pulp mills and sawmills.
His dream was to be a national park warden, but it was the 1980s and the Canadian government was cutting back on park staff. Instead, he moved to Vancouver to attend the British Columbia Institute of Technology to get a diploma in administrative management.
"I had no desire to work in retail but like most starving students, I needed some cash," he said. "I was walking past a store in the 5000 block of Kingsway. It was the first time I'd seen a London Drugs store. I didn't know anything about the company but they needed part-time stock guys, so I started doing that."
He was a sales supervisor within a year and, after working for five years and jumping from store to store, he became a store manager in 1990.
Several years later, he became regional manager for the territory between Chilliwack and downtown Vancouver.
Promotions followed. He became director of human resources in 1997, vice-president of human resources and distribution in 1998 and a member of the company's small executive committee in 2000.
A senior vice-president post arrived in 2007 and the COO title was added in 2012.
The Louie family undeniably runs the show, with a history going back to Brandt Louie's grandfather, Hok Yat Louie, founding a general store in 1903 in Chinatown and Brandt's father, Tong Louie, expanding the company by buying London Drugs in 1976.
A fourth generation is starting to take the reins now that Louie's two sons, Greg and Stuart, are working at the Richmond headquarters.
"Unlike a public company, where you wonder what the shareholders are thinking, I never have to worry about that because the shareholder comes in and tells me on a daily basis," Mahlman said.
