It took years of demonstrating her determination before Karen Flavelle was able to convince her father, Charles Flavelle, that having family come into the business would be a good thing, and that she was the right person to take over at Vancouver-based Purdys Chocolatier.
Purdys was founded in Vancouver in 1907 by Richard Carmon Purdy. But when Charles Flavelle, who had a sweet tooth and a passion for Purdys since childhood, and his business partner Eric Wilson, who discovered the chocolatier when he arrived in Canada from England, heard about Purdys going on the block, they sensed an opportunity. In 1963, they financed the purchase with a loan guarantee provided by Flavelle’s father, which Karen later found out was 75 per cent of her grandfather’s retirement savings.
Years later, it would take the better part of a decade for Karen to convince her father to give her an opportunity at the firm.
Here, she shares how a long-time employee’s encouragement, as well as a tragic accident in the family that gave her father a glimpse of his own mortality, led to her move to leadership. She also talks about how she managed the transition while raising children, and how a third generation is now involved.
Charles Flavelle died in May at 95.
How did Purdys become established with the first generation in your family?
In 1963, the father-son team of Hugh and Frank Forrester finally gave in to the many challenges they were facing as their partnership began to weaken. As a result, they put Purdys up for sale. Charles Flavelle and Eric Wilson stepped in and bought the company from the Forresters.
It all began innocently enough, with two young moms, Lucile Flavelle and Shirley Wilson, strolling with their babies in the neighbourhood where they lived. One day, they struck up a casual conversation and soon became friends. They introduced their husbands to each other, thus beginning the lifelong friendship and successful business partnership of Charles Flavelle and Eric Wilson.
What were those first years like for your father?
The first few years for Charles was all about learning the ropes.
As a member of the Retail Confectioners International (RCI), he reached out to other members who were very generous with their time and counsel and were willing to mentor him.
Eric Wilson was a chartered accountant and was very entrepreneurial. He looked after the bookkeeping and finances while working full-time to build his accounting advisory firm to IGA retailers. Whereas Charles, with his background in manufacturing and trades, became the operating general manger and president.
Charles had a sweet tooth and loved chocolate, but for him the real thrill was in the efficiency of manufacturing and the elegance of the business itself. He immersed himself in the science of candy-making and, in particular, reviewed the equipment required for the end products.
There were many challenges and pressing concerns in the initial years, and fixing the factory was a major one. The first order of business was to work on developing the kitchen to produce what was needed to as they expanded. The candymaker at that time was 65 years old and it was time to find and train a successor.
In 1966, the RCI created a candy school for candymakers to improve their skills. Charles decided to attend the session, which immersed him in the chemistry and physics of the craft. Soon Charles became the factory’s go-to man about chocolate. Over time, he introduced many improvements as he learned more about how to work with this complex product.
How do you remember growing up, with your dad, and with the family business?
Growing up as the daughter of the president of Purdys … Charles was thrilled when any of his kids wanted to join him at the chocolate factory on the weekend while he fixed things or caught up on work. We were thrilled to join him. We played hide-and-seek, and we snuck chocolates out of stock boxes.
I remember feeling so ill after those games—too much chocolate.
Whenever we went anywhere, inevitably there was a Purdys store in the vicinity that needed something. ‘Just a few minutes,’ he would say, and an hour later would return. My poor mother, dealing with four fidgety kids.
We grew up with a lot of frugality. Our sandwiches were wrapped in the wax paper of cereal box packaging
Charles’s message was loud and clear around our formal midweek dining table: offspring were not welcome to come into the business. He felt loyalty to his staff, and did not want to parachute offspring over long-time employees. He also said he was plowing any profits they made back into the growth of the business.
In my young mind, that meant he would have to sell Purdys in order to have a retirement income. There was clearly no place for me. My siblings got the same message.
Charles was an excellent role model in how to live a life of honesty, integrity and humbleness. He never lied, was never dishonest, and owned up to accidents when no one saw him do it.
Charles was a hard worker, which instilled in me what effort should look like.
As a child influenced by the Great Depression, we grew up with a lot of frugality. Our sandwiches were wrapped in the wax paper of cereal box packaging. The family food budget was tightly managed: no apples for snacks—too expensive. Only carrots and bread were available after school.
Charles was a believer that things should be fixed, not thrown out and new ones bought. I know how to fix many things.
What changed your father’s mind after his initial resistance to his children getting involved in the business?
First of all, becoming the leader of Purdys was a journey—and not the easiest journey. I worked for 12 years at three other companies before I joined Purdys. I was very happy to have those different experiences to prepare me for Purdys leadership. My father had discouraged my siblings and I from joining Purdys.
Then, when I asked to join Purdys after working four years for another company—he said no. Purdys did not have an empty role for my skills.
Finally, both he and I were ready to consider me taking on the leadership of Purdys in 1988.
In 1988, I was moving from London, where I had been working for a boutique marketing consulting company, back to Toronto. Prior to London, I had spent 5 ½ years in CPG [consumer packaged goods] with General Mills in Toronto.
I asked Charles if I could join Purdys, this time with more thoughtfulness, having determined that I wanted to move my career from CPG to retail.
My father had seen shifts in his life: His long-term employee had asked, ‘When is the next generation coming into the business?’ giving Charles permission to consider it.
And my youngest brother had been killed in a mountain climbing accident, causing my father to feel his own mortality.
As a result, he was ready to think about transition to the next generation.
After that tragedy, how did you end up structuring your taking over the business, and how did you manage while raising a young family?
Over six years, Charles and I created an agreement on what my coming into Purdys would look like.
My husband agreed to move to Vancouver for me to take on this exciting challenge—but wanted to live in Toronto for six years prior to doing so. It gave Charles and me breathing room to make our agreement.
We agreed I would buy the business from him—at a market valuation and market interest on outstanding debt. I would become president in two years, assuming I was performing well. And I would have control once I had bought 75 per cent.
I started in November of 1994. I had a young family with three children: Tam was four years old, Cali was 1 ½ years old, Scott was six months old. Jamie, my husband, worked full-time in Institutional Bonds for Scotia Capital, working on Toronto time.
How did you and your husband navigate those early years in business?
We were fortunate to have a live-in nanny. At the time, it was the most common solution for dual working parents, as it was the cheapest if you had space in your house to accommodate the person, as most of us did. Very different today.
My husband and I shared duties. He was gone at 5:15 a.m., since he was working on Toronto time, so I was responsible until the nanny started.
Since he was home at 2 p.m., he was responsible when the nanny’s day was done at 5:30 … giving me the freedom to stay late at work.
How did this shape your family life?
When our youngest went into Grade 1, we decided to no longer have a nanny. We didn’t want the kids growing up with their beds being made for them, their rooms being cleaned for them, and their plates and dishes being picked up after them.
It was a harder road but one that felt right. Having Jamie home at 2 p.m. made it possible because we didn’t need after-school care. But it was onerous, as Jamie coached multiple teams, and cooked dinner.
So we hired a university student to help with after-school driving, making dinner, and with homework.”
How is the younger generation involved in the business?
Since I bought the business from my father, neither of my two siblings have ever been involved. Their careers have been very different from a career in business.
At the beginning of COVID, I struggled with the reams of data my CFO at that time was giving me—without giving me any insight. My youngest son, Scott [McTavish], volunteered to help, and took one day to create a chart showing me the financial story. He had graduated from Queens in Geo-engineering and had spent three years at PwC in management consulting.
Then he proceeded to help with many other things, including stepping in when the VP of IT resigned. After two weeks, we hired him.
Scott’s progress is measured and managed by the president, CFO, our family advisor, VP People & Culture and myself.
My purpose now is to make sure the transition is done in a way that maintains the extraordinary harmony of our family. We want this close relationship to continue.
What is it about Purdys that you appreciate?
There are three things that make Purdys unique.
[Firstly], our customers. I love listening to what customers are saying, what they are implying, what hints they are giving to what they might want but don’t know to ask for.
I never fail to be struck by the deep love and emotional association some of our customers have for Purdys chocolate.
The second thing I love is working with Purdys people. They are all so committed to making Purdys a great place to work, really listening to customers and creating great experiences, and helping us be more productive at making great chocolate.
The third thing I love is never, never, never, ever deviating from the superb quality Purdys is known for. It is the reason customers keep coming back. I love trying other chocolates and rarely finding one that is as good as Purdys.
Our employees are all a key part of the quality products we make for our customers, and I hope they are as proud of the quality they produce every day as I am.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
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