Nick Candy

I get my design inspiration from Christian Dior and Chanel.

On Beverly Hills we paid too much. One hundred per cent, we did over-pay. We didn’t do our research properly.

When you are in real estate, you are going to make some mistakes.

We’’ve designed swimming pools that turn into ballrooms, and fitted security devices that fill a garage with gas if someone is stealing your car.

Possessions are always secondary, loved ones are all that matters.

Our clients pay for value. London is the top city in the world, the best tax haven in the world for some and the top residential site in the city is One Hyde Park at the top end of Sloane Street.

The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

We’ve created a recognisable brand that has the ability to be the Louis Vuitton of our era.

Can advertising foist an inferior product on the consumer? Bitter experience has taught me that it cannot. On those rare occasions when I have advertised products which consumer tests have found inferior to other products in the same field, the results have been disastrous.

This is serious business. But it doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun along the way.

Some manufacturers illustrate their advertisements with abstract paintings. I would only do this if I wished to conceal from the reader what I was advertising.

You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.

Your business, and your brand, must first let people know what you care about, and that you care about them.

A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition.

While several parties have expressed interest in buying the company, I’m not shopping it, I haven’t sold it and I’m not about to sell it.

If you go through some big corporate change, it’s just not going to be the same. If we sold to Yahoo, they would have done something different; if you want to continue your vision of the company, then don’t sell because there’s inevitably going to be some change.

I don’t hire a lot of number-crunchers, and I don’t trust fancy marketing surveys. I do my own surveys and draw my own conclusions.

A monopoly of jobs in this country is just as bad as a monopoly of bread!

Work mixed with management becomes not only easier but more profitable. The time is past when anyone can boast about ‘hard work’ without having a corresponding result to show for it.

I have very good executives and great children. They’re very good.