OPINION: The long-time Rich Lister’s incredible seven-decade career is a testament to curiosity, humility and, most of all, class.
about his first international trip back in 1958, he happily admitted some parts of the market were beyond him.“I don’t understand things like bitcoin and stock prices based on sales growth,” he said. “I just don’t know where it leads – but I don’t think anyone else does.”Learning about Hains’ first trip abroad – he and his wife Helen stopped in London, New York and Los Angeles – was a reminder of another great Hains lesson: stay curious.
After that first trip opened his eyes to the sophistication of international capital markets and management techniques, Hains became a frequent flyer, taking three or four overseas trips a year to study new business opportunities and economic trends. His preparedness to seek new horizons, particularly outside Australia, was vital to the success of Portland House.But Hains’ hunger for information didn’t end there.
The span of Hains’ career – from manufacturing, to retail, to investment banking, to hedge fund management – speaks to his ability to recognise when one industry was maturing, when new opportunities were emerging and how risk and reward had to be balanced.Hains was always hesitant to provide much in the way of lessons about business, but one central philosophy involved debt.
In 1960, a credit squeeze that hit the Australian economy, known as the “Holt Jolt”, threatened Hain’s retail business, which was heavily reliant on hire-purchase.. “But we were influenced by that. We still are. We’ve never had debt since. It’s not really great for maximising profits, but it means we sleep at night.
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