Frank Lowy Quotes
120 Frank Lowy Quotes
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[On one of his first jobs in Australia] I’d get up at 6 am, catch the bus, go to the factory with my sandwiches in a little bag, be bored out of my mind all day, then come home. I started on a grinding machine and soon become assistant storeman, where absolutely nothing was required of me. There was one job in that factory that I used to covet. It was the driver’s job.
Frank Lowy
My first customer was a Greek deli in Mascot and I remember how excited I was when I actually found it…
Frank Lowy
Whenever I get that feeling I follow it. It has served me well so many times since then.
Frank Lowy
[On trying to buy thirty acres from a reluctant farmer and borrowing a big American car] We wanted to impress the farmer, show him our substance. We got no points for showing up in our van. We played up all the advantages we had, and all those we could borrow.
Frank Lowy
[On Westfield getting the first request of a meeting by Grace Bros (Now Myer’s)] They appeared bigger than life. Their height and the fact that they were from such a large company gave them enormous stature in our eyes. We felt small; we were just beginning in business and were overpowered by their presence.
Frank Lowy
[On Paul Kent being on the Westfield board of directors] He was most astute and I learned a tremendous amount from him about running a public company. I had a bit of grounding in accountancy but he was my main source of knowledge. … I had never been on a board [of directors] before. He showed me the way.
Frank Lowy
When my mother used to live in New South Head Road, every night as I drove home from work I would look up and see the light on in her window. Many times I would stop in for five or ten minutes to say hello. If ever I bought something new, like a suit or a shirt, I would always show it to her. For years after her death I used to look up at the window but saw no light.
Frank Lowy
[On John F Kennedy’s assassination] The unpredictability and impermanence of it all unsettled me. How could such a powerful figure be felled by the stray bullet of an unstable character? I become emotionally engulfed by the event and felt it for years. I still carry with me the image of his young son at the funeral.
Frank Lowy
[On building a shopping centre] I felt a great sense of achievement seeing throngs of people on what was previously just an empty piece of land. Suddenly there was activity, prosperity, cars coming and going, mothers, children and noise all in a place where there had been nothing before.
Frank Lowy
We had good retail knowledge and could get on well with retailers. We could discuss what they wanted and where they wanted and try to meet their needs. In this instance we said we would very much like to expand in Brisbane. That was all Myer need to hear, and it was in.
Frank Lowy
We were very much hands-on. There were not many people around who knew the shopping centre business, so we had to remain involved. By the 1970s we would have site meetings where twenty executives would be sitting around a table and John and I would be asking questions and proposing alternatives. It’s the way we kept informed.
Frank Lowy
I wanted to maintain control over what the company was doing and that meant knowing about everything that was going on, not just the big things.
Frank Lowy
When I was in the office I wanted to be on the golf course and when I was on the golf course I was in a rush because I wanted to be back at the office before the mail went out at 4.30pm. There was pressure at both ends so I gave up golf; it was just too hard.
Frank Lowy
At school all we talked about was soccer…
Frank Lowy
[On meeting Andrew Lederer] When we met we were simpatico, we just clicked. Our shared ambition to do something for the soccer community both energised and bound us together.
Frank Lowy
[On the Westfield Tower complex in William St Sydney] The other developers fell away and we were left there like a shag on a rock. It took us two or three years to lease the space. Those were anxious times…
Frank Lowy
We were the only tenants in the building. We occupied about two floors – the lift service was very good – but it was a struggle.
Frank Lowy
[In response to being told by his bank manager that they wanted additional security for their loan because Westfield shares had fallen in value – ‘You’ll need to top up’] Top up from where? [The shares value later came back up]
Frank Lowy
By nature I’m an impatient negotiator. I have a reputation for being hard, because I usually start where I want to finish with little room to manoeuvre; I don’t usually present an ambit claim. I present what I think is reasonable and therefore don’t give myself much room to move. What I have learned, though, is that deals have a life of their own. The art is knowing how to play it. You have to live it, feel it, sense it. If you lose the dynamics, the deal will die.
Frank Lowy
When I went to the office in Connecticut it was like going to the office in Australia. I took to the US scene like a duck to water.
Frank Lowy
[On investing in the US] That was the beginning of my starting day at six. Because of the time difference I was either woken by a call from the US or I rang.
Frank Lowy
For poker to be interesting it has to hurt. When the stakes are high enough to matter, then you really perform.
Frank Lowy
Does the zoning still stand if the building is pulled down and the site is vacant?
Frank Lowy
A lot of pain is associated with success. In the pursuit of success, time is of no consequence and effort has no limits. In many ways, being successful in business is not different from being a successful sportsman. To get there you need drive, discipline and determination. You also need to cope with the pain of maybe not succeeding.
Frank Lowy
[On Westfield silently accumulating 5.3 percent of Grace Bros (later Myer) shares one of their major tenants] We wanted to ensure that there was a healthy retail industry. It wasn’t in our interests to have non-retailers or ‘corporate acquirers’ getting ownership of one of the country’s leading retailers. … As it turned out, our percentage was crucial in determining the final ownership of Grace Bros.
Frank Lowy
[On not selling the Grace Bros shares to Alan Bond] he could have offered us the world and we wouldn’t have sold him those shares. Our focus was not to make money on this shareholding but to make sure that what happened was best for the retail industry. What’s a quick profit worth if you consider that the long-term interest of Westfield could be jeopardised?
Frank Lowy
Retail requires attention to pennies. You’ve got to put pennies on top of pennies…
Frank Lowy
We know how to create value – that’s our business.
Frank Lowy
For all the criticism of [Joh] Bejlke-Petersen, he was highly aggressive for business in Queensland. Present a genuine business opportunity to him and he would pay attention. He saw us as doers.
Frank Lowy
[On being offered John Saunders Westfield shares] It was a unique opportunity, and I grabbed it with both hands. The decision was huge and the risk was enormous, but there are some opportunities in life that are so momentous that you almost have to leap first and deal with it later, and that’s what I did.
Frank Lowy
I have this force within that constantly drives me to improve, not necessarily for financial gain but for being able to do more.
Frank Lowy
Although my belly is full I am still hungry. I can’t sit around and do nothing. My mind just doesn’t rest, whether it’s five o’clock in the morning or midnight, I still give all I have to everything I do.
Frank Lowy
I believe you always have to do something. You may fail, but you can’t fail without trying something first.
Frank Lowy
I can’t allow myself the luxury of failure.
Frank Lowy
My problem is that when I do something there is an expectation that I will do something big.
Frank Lowy
You can’t have two cooks in one kitchen.
Frank Lowy
You should leave a little earlier than you have to. Timing is the most important thing in life.
Frank Lowy
[On Westfield pulling back from the Intencity concept] We are not in the business of chasing dreams.
Frank Lowy
At first our interests there were modest, but over time we were able to learn, adapt to local conditions and successfully grow the business.
Frank Lowy
Despite adversity, we won. It doesn’t matter who scores the goal, as long as the team is victorious.
Frank Lowy
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