![]() Sir Alan is characteristically blunt about his own business failings, which made the 1990s much less successful than the previous decade. There was no fund of goodwill when Amstrad later ran into technical problems: his staff were only too happy to switch to Amstrad's rivals. Lord Kalms, former Dixons boss, credits Sugar's word processor with bringing computers from specialist shops onto the high street.īut Lord Kalms also says that despite his own good relations with Sir Alan, Dixons staff found Amstrad hard to deal with. He knew his customers well enough to market his best-selling computer as a word processor - because that was less likely to put off the still-technophobic British public in the 1980s.īy the end of that decade, Sir Alan was selling to Europe, and exploring the American market.īut it was the partnership with the electrical retailer Dixons, that spearheaded the company's success in Britain. Sir Alan's grounding in sales, traipsing round London's electrical shops selling for a wholesaler, taught him to focus on what customers want. Technical colleagues say it is unusual to work for someone who makes decisions fast and does not try to change them during the development process. One common description of Sir Alan from people who know him from the prime minister downwards is that he keeps his word. "A 12-second phone call was the absolute maximum," he says.Ĭolleagues say his red-hot temper blows over as fast as it appears. His long-time PR associate Nick Hewer says Sir Alan has always been in a hurry. Impatience has been the hallmark of his success, getting products to market faster than rivals, and keeping his hands in many pies. He insists he'll never retire, but admits he has had enough of front-line sales work, having no time for endless Powerpoint presentations and warning that he would "end up whacking someone". He has a big office near his home in Essex, but he can work just as easily from his holiday homes in Florida and Marbella, or even - using one of his four mobile email devices - up a Spanish mountainside while practicing his latest passion, cycling. “I cannot believe I can officially call him my business partner now.Sir Alan first found success with Amstrad computers. Jemma Solomon said: “They say everything happens for a reason and my goodness I can honestly say I never expected that in 18 months I would have worked my absolute butt off enrolling family, friends and even neighbours during what would be the busiest time of my life, and to go on to meet such an amazing person in Lord Sugar is nothing short of surreal.
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