Dickson Poon Biography

Dickson Poon was born on 19 June 1956, in Hong Kong into an elite and well-to-do household. Both of Poon’s parents were independent and well established. His father was a watchmaker and he earned bountiful profit by selling watches while his mother aced it at her stockbroking firm. Poon studied at Hong Kong’s St Joseph’s College before moving to Britain's Uppingham School and then to Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he studied philosophy and economics. He refined his retail skills during an 18-month apprenticeship in watch-making at Chopard's Geneva factory. Dickson Poon returned to Hong Kong in 1980 and started his business after borrowing half a million pound loan from his father.

Dickson Poon started his career in 1980 by selling watches. From the time Poon opened his first shop, Dickson Watch and Jewellery, the aspirational entrepreneur was very clear that he wanted to make it big. Within two years, Poon’s company, Dickson Concepts acquired its first brand with a franchise from Charles Jourdan. Poon’s ambitious nature was in his blood as both his parents were much ahead of their time and strived to attain feat in their respective fields.

Dickson Poon was among the first entrepreneurs to understand that Asia was as much in need of big designer brands as the US and the UK. Persistently an active member in the development and operations of his business, Poon’s constant focus on the taste of his consumers set him apart from the rest and helped him gain the big names.

In 1983, Dickson Poon decided to venture into something new and started to simultaneously invest in producing films. He signed a contract with movie star Sammo Hung and co-founded D & B Films Co. Ltd. The company produced many successful action motion pictures like ‘In the Line of Duty’ series, ‘Hong Kong 1941’, ‘The Return of Pom Pom’, and ‘Legacy of Rage’. The enterprise had quite a few big hits and introduced many new faces. The first star created by Poon’s team was ‘Miss Malaysia’ Michelle Yeoh who was cast in five D &B productions before she married Poon in 1988 and retired from films. D & B also hired celebrities such as the singer George Lam, actor Bill Tung and Lydia Shum, who starred in the famous ‘It's a Mad Mad World’ film series. However, with its other co-founders slowly shifting focus, D & B films was unable to compete against the big timers and ended its production and distribution completely in 1992.

Dickson Poon was not much affected by the activities of D & B films as the retail goods sector was his ultimate priority. His strategic and clever entrepreneurial skills were evident with the choices he made while acquiring big brands and labels. In 1987, Poon attained the French brand S.T. Dupont for over $50 million dollars, a company known for selling fancy pens, lighters and other accessories, usually used by the elite.

In 1991, at the peak of recession in Britain, Dickson Concepts bought the luxury departmental store, Harvey Nichols, for $96 million from the Burton Group. Poon then became its non-executive Chairman in October 1991. An aggressive retailer, Poon with his efficient and innovative marketing skills changed the face of the brand which was running into losses. Since being taken over by Poon, Harvey Nichols moved to expand from its London base and opened stores in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Dickson Poon has been the executive chairman and Director of Dickson Concepts (International) Limited since February 1992 and November 1991, respectively. Apart from its several other brand acquisitions, the Hong Kong listed company had also acquired the best-selling designer brand Ralph Lauren and Polo distributorship in Asia for over twenty years before ending its contract in December 2009. Currently, Poon is also the owner and Chairman of Tommy Hilfiger Asia-Pacific Ltd.

Dickson Poon is thrice married. His first marriage was to Marjorie Yang, daughter of Hong Kong textile magnate Y.L. Yang. The marriage produced a daughter Poon Dee-Dee. His second marriage was to former Miss Malaysia, Michelle Yeoh. Both the marriages were shortlived. Currently, Poon lives in London with his third wife, Pearl Yu, with whom he has five children.

In Britain, Dickson Poon is a major benefactor of universities and had made a 10 million pound donation to Oxford University’s St Hugh’s college in 2010. It was to help fund the building of a centre dedicated to the study of China that will be known as the Dickson Poon China Centre.

In 2012, to fund its law faculty, Poon made a contribution of 20 million pound to King’s College London, the largest donation in the university’s history. Acknowledging his donation the college has since being renamed The Dickson Poon School of Law.

In 2015 Dickson Poon was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire for his services to business, charity, specifically Higher Education. Previously, he was also granted the Commander of the Order of the British Empire.