Retail has been part of David Lui’s DNA from a very young age.
“I was born and raised in an entrepreneurial family. My dad immigrated here to Canada,” said Lui, who is CEO of Kit and Ace and Casca Designs, and co-founder of Unity Brands. “I was inspired by what he was doing. He was running retail like grocery, restaurants. Somewhat typical of an immigrant family.
“I was inspired and I just thought I want to get into the business. So what I did when I was 18, at that time there was a huge influx of folks from Hong Kong coming into the city, and I wanted to do something that was relevant to them. So I just made cold calls into Hong Kong to some companies to a fax machine. Received their response. Flew over there to negotiate. I won exclusive licence for a Hong Kong-based brand and brought it into North America.
“So I started opening my own freestanding stores. I had 12 stores. Six stores in Vancouver. Six stores in Toronto. Had a great 10-year run with it. Women and men’s apparel built more around the casual and work inspired and it was a very popular brand in Hong Kong at the time. My motto was let me bring something from their home to their new home in BC and Canada. That was my vision.”
Eventually, he moved out of the business due to some issues with a partner, took six months off and then went into corporate life.
Lui was born and raised in North Vancouver.
“At the young age of 18 I had the decision of to either go post-secondary or go into business. So I just decided to go into business. I was too impatient. I wasn’t a fan of school. So I didn’t pursue school.”
He did however go back to school and received his Executive MBA in 2013 from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.
Lui is a co-founder of Unity Brands, a company he formed with Joe Mimran and Frank Rocchetti. Unity Brands acquired Kit and Ace and Casca footwear. The company also purchased Mastermind Toys. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Motive Brands Collective, a company that specializes in investing in emerging consumer brands.
Lui has an extensive background in retail with over 30 years of retail and marketing experience and is known for his award-winning brand transformations, e-commerce and digital knowledge along with his passion for scaling businesses.
He has worked and led many retail brands including Theme, Esprit, Mark’s, SportChek (Canadian Tire Corporation) and most recently, he was the CEO at Korite International. In 2022, he was ranked 11th in the Global CEO Awards. His portfolio includes being named CEO of one of the Fastest Growing Companies in Canada (2x), Fastest-Growing Company in British Columbia, Canada (2x), winner of Canada’s BDC Young Entrepreneur Award, and a Business in Vancouver Forty under 40.
“My parents being in retail it was just something I fell in love with,” said Lui. “Quite frankly I’ve never left retail. I just love the pace of it, the energy, ever-changing. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie – one that takes some risks.
“I tried my hand into software, marketing for software, there’s some transferable skills from a marketing perspective but I missed the action of retail. Quite frankly, I missed the action of apparel. I love the fashion. I love trends. I love how people dress. What is casual. What is formal. I just love apparel.”
Lui said his father taught him a lot as a young kid. How to stock shelves. How to stock milk. How to cut vegetables. He would accompany him on buying trips at wholesalers or auctions.
“I was working the cash desk at a very young age. I just loved it. Meeting people with the customer on the floor. My dad taught me well. I think my dad probably wanted me to carry on the business but I decided I wanted to get into fashion,” he said.
When it comes to business, Lui’s philosophy is the importance of reinventing oneself and challenging oneself.
“It’s never steady Eddie. It’s really continuously evolving. Challenge yourself. And don’t get complacent,” he said.
“Details. Be very detail oriented. If you’re an entrepreneur, you have to know your numbers. You have to know how things work. And as you progress, grow and scale, let your team do the work but have a foundation of understanding how things work that you can still stay on the pulse of it but not micro manage it.”
Lui said retail never was easy for him. Not an easy ride. It’s ever changing. Bricks and mortar to e-commerce and now a re-acceleration of bricks and mortar with an e-commerce and omni channel presence. Coming out with better product is the key.
“It’s a tough business but it’s an exciting one at the same time,” he said.
Lui is a busy man juggling all the brands these days. The busy schedule of an entrepreneur can take its toll both mentally and physically on people.
“About 13 years ago I decided I am going to get healthy,” he said. “When I went through my career in being busy, moved around quite a bit, fortunate to have an understanding wife that traveled with me, but I was 50 pounds heavier. I just decided that health was way more important.
“I decided I’ve got to get back into it, I confess. I do a lot running, cycling. That’s what I love doing. I think that calms my mind and I need to do more of that now. My kids always inspire me. At their activities and events. I would coach their soccer team. My family is definitely an electrical outlet for me because they charge me up.
“Work of course charges me up, too.”
