Rembrandt

"In 1949, when Rembrandt made its first profit after initial losses, Rupert as chairman and Patrick O’Neill-Dunne, their marketing advisor from Rothmans, each became entitled to 2,5% of Rembrandt’s net profit. Rupert told the board that he wanted it to devote his share to good causes."

"Rupert went further. He threatened the secretary for trade and industry that he would close the factory in Paarl if he did not get his rightful quota. He also proposed sending girls in Voortrekker dresses to demonstrate at the opening of parliament, carrying posters with the slogan, ‘Quotas are killing us!’ and to picket there for up to a year. His threats caused quite a hubbub in government circles, supposedly well disposed towards Afrikaner business, and proposals were invited. These led to the introduction of a far more flexible system and the eventual abolition of quotas. Henceforth manufacturers could submit their own assessment of their requirements, which would then be adjusted up- or downwards twice a year, depending on their output in the preceding six months. The battle was won at last, and the increased ability to compete served as a further boost to Rembrandt."

"The chemistry student – who with a personal investment of a mere £10 started a worldwide group of companies that would make him a world-famous entrepreneur – is linked to some of the best-known international trademarks, the foundation on which his business empire is built. From Cartier, the ‘king of jewellers and the jeweller of kings’, to the luxury goods of Alfred Dunhill, from Mont Blanc’s stylish writing instruments to the oldest Swiss watchmakers, all fall under Richemont, the international arm of the Rupert umbrella. It was preceded by the establishment of a global chain of tobacco interests under the banner of Rembrandt and Rothmans, as well as the production of the most famous South African wines and spirits."

"people who could not list both the advantages and disadvantages of a policy, viewpoint or strategy had not yet learnt to think creatively. In fact, at Rembrandt they kept a ‘black book’ in which employees had to record the pros and cons of proposals. According to Rupert the book was ‘famous’ to some employees, ‘notorious’ to others. ‘You quickly fall victim to tunnel vision if your brain can’t think pro and con,’ he said. ‘If someone asks me a question, my brain works in terms of pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages. Only then can you take decisions.’"

"On the evening of Wednesday 18 November 1953 Rupert met AD (Lens) Wassenaar, general manager of the insurance company Sanlam, in the old Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg. He asked Wassenaar if Sanlam could help with a loan: he needed £750 000 to close the transaction, and at once. It had been the managing director of the Sanlam Group, Dr Louw, who had taken receipt of Rembrandt’s first cigarette at the Paarl factory five years previously."

"He crossed over to the new company at the time of the merger, when Voorbrand’s production assets and brand names were transferred to Rembrandt for a sum of £70 000. Voorbrand shareholders obtained a share in Rembrandt, which still continued to process pipe tobacco. Rupert himself was authorised to apply for shares of £70 000 in Rembrandt."

"Another sceptic was the biggest cigarette manufacturer in Europe, the German Philipp Reemtsma, who had met Jan Rupert in Hamburg in 1950 and was impressed with everything he saw and heard about Rembrandt. When he eventually met Rupert, the two men became firm friends despite initial language difficulties. A World War I pilot himself, Reemtsma had lost three of his sons during World War II. While he suspected that the enterprising young South African would become his main competitor, he asked himself: ‘What would you do for your own son?’ He decided to take Rupert under his wing and helped him in crucial ways."

"Despite Rembrandt’s increasing competitive edge and a rise in demand that necessitated extensions to the factory in Paarl, Rupert was aware of the fact that a price war could damage his group. He decided to extend his operations overseas in order to build up profitable new markets, and in the process also came up with innovations that left competitors behind and changed people’s smoking patterns internationally."

"Rembrandt’s financial statement at the end of the first year showed a loss of £63 000. Rupert has described it as ‘the most critical time in my life’. Yet he did not lose his nerve. ‘In times of crisis I am always calm.’16 The following year Rembrandt registered a profit of £104 000. Rupert denied that it was all merit: 99% was sweat, the rest was plain luck − factors beyond their control. But it was a turning-point just the same. After that they never looked back."

"Five years after its humble start in the old mill in Paarl Rembrandt controlled a substantial part of the South African cigarette market. But this did not satisfy Rupert. He did not underestimate his competitors; he could see the risks of a price war."

"In effecting loans with which he financed his expanding business empire, he started following a practice that would yield great dividends in the long run. When money was needed for expansion or whatever, he usually borrowed more than he needed – and then made sure that the debt was redeemed before the due date. That was how Rembrandt established an enviable reputation for creditworthiness over the years."

"Rupert first paid a visit to Philipp Reemtsma in Germany to ask advice and enlist his support. Then he went to England to start talks with Sir Edward Baron. He secured the backing of a later faithful ally, the financier Edmund de Rothschild, who knew the Barons well and worked on them to sell their shares and special voting rights to Rembrandt. De Rothschild told the family members with voting rights that Rupert was ‘an honourable man who would look after the interests of the employees’. According to him one of the family members was undecided, and ‘a certain degree of diplomacy’ was necessary to convince him to part with his interests."

"Hertzog, who complained in the early years because Entek, like Distillers, was not growing as quickly as Rembrandt, was also correct in his view that coffee and tea would not show such quick profits as tobacco did. Distillers started progressing after ten years, but was even then ‘not yet right’, in his words. In the case of Entek, Rupert’s long-term view was proved right. Despite boycotts, rumour-mongering and fluctuations in the tea and coffee market during the 1960s, the company became a success."

"Rembrandt’s overseas investments took on a particular pattern. First, the best possible local partners were found and a new company established. In the initial phase and with the launching, advice and assistance were given from South Africa on an ongoing basis. Rembrandt would revitalise the new acquisition. Through cost-cutting and an emphasis on marketing and advertising the business would take off on its own steam. After the local partners had been trained and empowered, however, the Rembrandt Group moved into the background."

"The phenomenal success of Peter Stuyvesant helped Rupert to lay the foundations of a business empire that would stretch across the globe. An important development at the end of the 1950s involved the British cigarette company Carreras, which had been outmanoeuvred by Rembrandt when they bought Rothmans."