plenty of general useful business advice.
For instance, the fact that A.M.S. Trading Company (General Importers) was a limited, rather than proper, company was down to Gordon’s guidance. He told Sugar that this way of working would mean he limited his personal liabilities, and therefore mean his house and other personal assets would not be at risk if his business got into difficulties. Just as there are things to learn from the nature of the company, so there are from the name he chose: the A.M.S. part was clearly formed by Sugar’s initials – Alan Michael Sugar. However, more revealing is that he chose the terms ‘trading’ and ‘general importers’, which suggests that at this stage his aspiration was not to make his own goods, but rather to import them and then sell them on at a profit. Exactly four years later, he would change the name of the company to A.M.S. Trading (Amstrad), although in reality he had been using that name for some time before he technically renamed it.
The name Amstrad is memorable, but Sugar says he simply took his initials, and welded them to the firstsyllable of ‘trading’. ‘It was more luck than judgement,’ he insisted, adding that a lot of operations back then found their names in such a way. This was, after all, in the days before brand consultants appeared, delighted to charge extortionate fees in return for a catchy title to name your company.
An insight into how hard Sugar was working at this time in his career comes from a man who had his own premises near to Amstrad HQ, on Gray’s Inn Road. Colin Lewin was an electrical trader who shared Sugar’s physical build and much of his up-and-at-’em business style. They became friends and business contacts, swapping electrical products, advice and gossip. Sugar sometimes stopped by for a cup of tea near Lewin’s premises. This happened only occasionally, purely because Sugar worked so hard. ‘[He] certainly put in a good six-day week,’ recalled Lewin. These were tireless times indeed. As well as impressing Lewin with his work rate, Sugar was still very much impressing Lalvani of Binatone. One day, while loading up his van with electrical products that Binatone had imported from the Far East, Sugar learned that the company had taken delivery of a batch of radios that were faulty. He took the radios home and fixed them himself with the help of his wife, working hard overnight, having slogged hard all day. He was certainly a man full of energy and enthusiasm.
Lewin and Lalvani were not the only characters whowere impressed by the young Alan Sugar. Ronnie Marks was the owner of an audio store on London’s Tottenham Court Road. Running from Oxford Street to Euston Road, this one-way street is a shopping heaven. Although at the north end it houses department and furniture stores, it is best known for its collection of cheap electrical stores. Laptop computers, stereos and DVD players are among the many goods available here at budget prices. The electrical consumer revolution of Tottenham Court Road was sparked in the 1960s, and Ronnie Marks was one of the first men to open a store there. He was also a wholesaler, and one day one of his counter staff told him that there was a ‘new face out front’ who was seeking some goods on credit.
The new face out front was Sugar, who found that Marks needed some convincing to give him any sort of credit deal. He had never met Sugar before, and was therefore unable to assess whether he could trust him. The irascible Sugar wouldn’t back down and eventually a deal was struck. Marks would give him some goods on credit, but he would need to pay for them before he could return to collect a new batch of goods. True, this was a tight arrangement, but Sugar relished a challenge and selling was his forte, so it was not one that he feared. Like clockwork, at the end of each week he would return to the wholesalers with his money for the recent consignment, and ready to fill his vehicle with a
For instance, the fact that A.M.S. Trading Company (General Importers) was a limited, rather than proper, company was down to Gordon’s guidance. He told Sugar that this way of working would mean he limited his personal liabilities, and therefore mean his house and other personal assets would not be at risk if his business got into difficulties. Just as there are things to learn from the nature of the company, so there are from the name he chose: the A.M.S. part was clearly formed by Sugar’s initials – Alan Michael Sugar. However, more revealing is that he chose the terms ‘trading’ and ‘general importers’, which suggests that at this stage his aspiration was not to make his own goods, but rather to import them and then sell them on at a profit. Exactly four years later, he would change the name of the company to A.M.S. Trading (Amstrad), although in reality he had been using that name for some time before he technically renamed it.
The name Amstrad is memorable, but Sugar says he simply took his initials, and welded them to the firstsyllable of ‘trading’. ‘It was more luck than judgement,’ he insisted, adding that a lot of operations back then found their names in such a way. This was, after all, in the days before brand consultants appeared, delighted to charge extortionate fees in return for a catchy title to name your company.
An insight into how hard Sugar was working at this time in his career comes from a man who had his own premises near to Amstrad HQ, on Gray’s Inn Road. Colin Lewin was an electrical trader who shared Sugar’s physical build and much of his up-and-at-’em business style. They became friends and business contacts, swapping electrical products, advice and gossip. Sugar sometimes stopped by for a cup of tea near Lewin’s premises. This happened only occasionally, purely because Sugar worked so hard. ‘[He] certainly put in a good six-day week,’ recalled Lewin. These were tireless times indeed. As well as impressing Lewin with his work rate, Sugar was still very much impressing Lalvani of Binatone. One day, while loading up his van with electrical products that Binatone had imported from the Far East, Sugar learned that the company had taken delivery of a batch of radios that were faulty. He took the radios home and fixed them himself with the help of his wife, working hard overnight, having slogged hard all day. He was certainly a man full of energy and enthusiasm.
Lewin and Lalvani were not the only characters whowere impressed by the young Alan Sugar. Ronnie Marks was the owner of an audio store on London’s Tottenham Court Road. Running from Oxford Street to Euston Road, this one-way street is a shopping heaven. Although at the north end it houses department and furniture stores, it is best known for its collection of cheap electrical stores. Laptop computers, stereos and DVD players are among the many goods available here at budget prices. The electrical consumer revolution of Tottenham Court Road was sparked in the 1960s, and Ronnie Marks was one of the first men to open a store there. He was also a wholesaler, and one day one of his counter staff told him that there was a ‘new face out front’ who was seeking some goods on credit.
The new face out front was Sugar, who found that Marks needed some convincing to give him any sort of credit deal. He had never met Sugar before, and was therefore unable to assess whether he could trust him. The irascible Sugar wouldn’t back down and eventually a deal was struck. Marks would give him some goods on credit, but he would need to pay for them before he could return to collect a new batch of goods. True, this was a tight arrangement, but Sugar relished a challenge and selling was his forte, so it was not one that he feared. Like clockwork, at the end of each week he would return to the wholesalers with his money for the recent consignment, and ready to fill his vehicle with a
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