To Terry Leon, holding the reins at Leon's Furniture is more than his business - it's his way of life. And it is what the Leons have always done.

Terry Leon has spent most of his 54 years serving the fabled Canadian company founded by his grandfather, Ablan Leon, in 1909. It all started when he was seven, launching his advertising career by folding Leon's promotional flyers after school.

On May 12, the pint-sized flyer folder from the 1950s reached the pinnacle of his career when he had the CEO moniker added to his previous title as president of Leon's, replacing his cousin Mark Leon (now chairman) at the helm of one of the country's largest retailers. The company boasts a market cap of $690 million.

The freshly-minted CEO prefers to play it down, saying it will be business as usual. Of course, it is more than that. To him, it is a treasured family legacy.

Ken Kerr, Business Edge
Terry Leon, CEO of Leon's Furniture, is settling in to his new role with the venerable Canadian company, which was founded by his grandfather in 1909.

1. Did you always believe that you were destined to work in the family business?

"I was always interested in the business, and I knew that was always an option. I can remember when I was folding flyers, I got a bottle of Coke for doing that, and I got to keep the bottle for the refund. Remember the old Coke bottles?" 2. Did you know your grandfather, who founded the company in 1909?

"No. He died before I was born. Obviously, I've heard a lot about my grandfather from my father and my aunts and uncles. His priorities were his family and his religion, and then his business was third. He was a very industrious individual. He started out as a peddler. He built up some savings, opened a dry goods business and through his hard work and industriousness, he was able to set the foundation for a very successful business."

3. Is it important to you that a Leon always is head of the company as it has always been?

"Not necessarily. We want the best possible person to run it. It just so happens that a lot of the family has been involved in the business for a lot of years and have been successful at it. Going forward, as we get bigger, we obviously have a lot more talent from a lot of different sources. I would suspect that some time in the near future it will be a non-Leon that will run the company."

4. How do you feel as you begin your tenure as CEO of a company?

"Well, I feel both privileged and honoured to be able to fill those shoes. The people who have been CEOs prior to me have had a very successful record, not only in terms of financial success, but in terms of good relationships with all of our associates and our shareholders, a lot of whom are family. They've established a very strong tradition, and they've done it on a basis of integrity and trust. Our fathers and uncles established a pretty clear priority and that priority is that the interest of the business comes first. That makes it a little bit easier for everyone involved."

5. How has your legal training contributed to your ability to manage this company?

"It gives you a pretty broad perspective and it helps you to be able to handle a multitude of files. It also teaches you how to priorize. You have to read a lot in law, so it helps you get through your reading fairly quickly and be able to get to the heart of what the issues are."

6. What have you learned about business from your father (chairman emeritus and former CEO Anthony Leon, also known as Mr. Tom)?

Ken Kerr, Business Edge
CEO Terry Leon hasn't forgotten Leon's Furniture's roots as he poses with a 1930s General Electric Hotpoint stove, part of an antique appliances display.

"He has always had a saying, 'The quickest way to get anything done was just do it.' He had this saying a long time before Nike came out with its saying (the slogan 'Just Do It'). I think he has taught us that you've got to deal with the issues and move forward, and that you can't procrastinate too long. You've got to think things out but, once you've done that, you've got to make a decision to move forward. My dad will continue to spend time in the office. He loves the company, he loves to work, he loves the people and we love having him around."

7. How many Leons currently work in the business, and are any of those your children?

"There are nine Leons currently in the company. I actually have a son (Luke) who is just starting out with the company in the management training program. We have a policy where the sons don't report to their fathers, and I think that's a good policy - one that we were all brought up in. If it's something he wants and if he works hard at it and enjoys it, I'm very happy about it. It's not something I want for him unless he really wants to do it."

8. How do you plan to put your stamp on the company?

"Hopefully, I can carry on the traditions that have made it successful in the past and we can continue to expand. I'm hoping that we'll be able to expand at a quicker pace than we have in the past."

9. What's your growth strategy?

"We will continue to renovate existing stores and build new stores across the country from the Maritimes to B.C. We're not in B.C. yet, but hopefully within two or three years we'll start to purchase property there and start building several stores. We now have 30 corporate stores and 27 franchise stores. We're going to open a new store in Hamilton this year and we're slated to open new stores in Vaughan and Saskatoon. We've also acquired properties in Newmarket and on the south shore of Montreal, and we're looking for several new locations in the Toronto area. Then, once we've secured some of those, we'll start looking for properties in Vancouver. We've been expanding and it has proven very successful. As you expand and are more successful, it increases your profitability, which allows you to expand at a quicker pace. Hopefully, you can grow exponentially as a result. That's the game plan."

10. How would you describe your management style?

"Our management style is basically an open-door one where you listen to all the different alternatives and make decisions based on the best advice from the best people around you. In our company, we talk a lot about integrity and trust. I think those are two essential elements that are very important to us. We try to run the company as if it was family- oriented. When I say that, I don't mean Leon-family-oriented. It's family-oriented in terms of a good working relationship with all those we work with."

11. What do you need to do to be a better leader?

"I think that listening is very important, and I could be a better manager by listening better and acquiring more information before making decisions. It's something that will certainly make me a better manager. I think the other important quality of a CEO is that before you make a decision, if you're not sure about it, you don't have to rush. You've got to be decisive, but it's better to think things through before you act too quickly. I have the benefit of a background where I've done so many jobs, from working in the warehouse to driving a truck to selling. I think that's very important, especially when you get into management, because you understand what those associates on the front line are dealing with. It gives you a much broader perspective in helping to deal with issues."

12. What's unique about the work environment at Leon's?

"I think most of our associates would feel that we're a pretty open company, and that we're straightforward. We try to treat everybody fairly and we find that that kind of environment creates rewards in of itself. We want to perpetuate that, grow that and accomplish that as we grow bigger. As you grow bigger, sometimes you become more of an impersonal company and we don't want that to happen. We want to maintain the same kinds of personal relationships that we have always had. As you grow bigger, you may not be able to spend as much time with each individual, but the quality of the time you spend with them is important. I believe we can maintain that."

13. How much emphasis do you place on customer service?

"When you have good relationships with your associates, usually that will show through in their relationship with our customers. We have a pretty good return rate with our customers. In fact, that's probably our greatest strength and greatest weakness. It's our greatest strength because obviously it creates a lot of business. But it's also probably our greatest weakness because we probably should pursue new customers more than we do."

14. What's your longterm vision for Leon's?

"It's to be around for another 100 years after our 100th anniversary in 2009. We want to continue to build a strong foundation so that we can be around for another century."

15. Are you considering converting the company into an income trust?

"You know, that's a hard question to answer. An income trust model, based on what you read and what the intent seems to be, is a model that is suitable for a mature company that has slowed down its pace of growth. For those companies, it can be a very convenient vehicle to dividend out income and obviously it's much more efficient from a tax perspective. But I'm not sure that that would be appropriate for a company that is planning to expand at a quicker pace. But time will tell."

16. Do you worry much about what competitors such as the Brick are doing?

"No. We're not the kind of company that has ever lost real sleep about what our competitors are doing. We kind of concentrate on our own business and feel that if we're not doing enough business, it's because of something we're doing or not doing. That's kind of a tradition that our founder (Ablan Leon) taught us. He taught us that if you're not doing well, it's because of something you're not doing right. So I can not say that we're the kind of company that gets overly nervous about what someone else is doing."

17. Why is it that your website doesn't have any information about the fact that you're a publicly traded company or other pertinent information to shareholders?

"Well, that's something we're considering doing. Of course, you can get all the information you want by going to Sedar (www.sedar.com). All of the financial information is there because we're a public company. We are considering creating a link (to Sedar) or providing more financial information. In fact, we just signed a new arrangement with Furniture.com and we're going to be redoing our entire website. When that is done, we'll probably have more information, including financial information."

18. So your company doesn't really feel the need to promote its stock, essentially letting its record speak for itself?

"I think that's a fair statement. I don't know if I can say it will always continue that way. Obviously, we believe our results should speak for themselves in one sense. In another sense, depending on the circumstances and the market in general, you've got to make sure you communicate significantly with your shareholders. So I think we communicate a little bit more than we used to, and I suspect that part of our business will grow a little bit more as time proceeds and we get a little bit bigger. On the other hand, I don't know that we'll ever be the kind of company that goes out and tries to sell ourselves dramatically. I think our culture is such that we want to achieve the results and say this is how we've done rather than create expectations that we can't meet."

19. At a time when there's a lot of controversy over the makeup of corporate boards, some would say that there are too many Leons (recently five) on your company's board of directors. What's your view of that?

"Well, you know what? You can't legislate morality. I would suggest that if you check with most, but not all, of the companies that have created the stir about corporate governance because of their poor corporate governance, most of those companies have a board which is completely independent in terms of the definitions that have been established under Sarbanes- Oxley (the U.S. securities regulations) and, of course, are being established currently in Canada as well under the OSC (Ontario Securities Commission) regulations. I think it's inappropriate to suggest that just because there's a relationship between members of a board that that in of itself stands for poor corporate governance. You've got to look at share ownership, you've got to look at the history of the board and you've got to look at the record of the company. I think those are the things that are very important. And I think the board of directors of Leon's Furniture stands up as well as any board under those circumstances."

20. Do you think you might still be working at Leon's at 80 like your father, and how long do you hope to remain as CEO?

"It really will be up to the board and how well I do. It could be a short reign, a medium reign or a long reign. As far as my father's record is concerned, I don't even know if I'm going to make 80."

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)

Leon's Furniture Ltd.

* Brass: Terry Leon, president/CEO; Dominic Scarangella, chief financial officer; Mark Leon, chairman.

* Profile: Leon's Furniture is a retailer that sells home furnishings, major appliances and home entertainment products through its 30 corporate and 27 franchise stores in Canada.

* History: Ablan Leon started the company, then known as the A. Leon Company, in 1909, selling pants, blankets, shoes and linens from a shop in Welland in southern Ontario.

* Key stats: Leon's posted earnings of $7.8 million or 43 cents per common share in the first quarter of 2005 on revenue of $113.6 million.

* Recent Stock Price (TSX:LNF): $37.75 (year range, $29.75-$42.50).

* Website: www.leons.ca

* Head Office: 45 Gordon MacKay Rd., P.O. Box 1100, Station B, Weston, Ont., M9L 2R8.

* Phone/Fax: 416-243-7880/ 416-243-7890.

Terry Leon

* Title: President/CEO, Leon's Furniture.

* Born/Raised/Age: Welland, Ont./54.

* Education: University of Western Ontario, law degree.

* Career: Terry Leon has been with Leon's Furniture since 1978. He was appointed vice-president in 1989 and president in 1992. On May 12, he added the CEO title.

* Family ties: Terry Leon has a son, Luke, in the company's management training program, his father Anthony Leon - also known as Mr. Tom - is chairman emeritus, and his grandfather, Ablan Leon, founded the company in 1909.

* Pastimes: Reading Winston Churchill biographies and mystery novels, boating, fishing, golf.