USA. With much sadness we report the passing of John Reed, a long-time DFS Group senior executive who was a key contributor to the travel retailer’s success in Hawaii, Japan and the wider Pacific from 1978 to 1999.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Reed (83) served as Vice President of Merchandising with John Wanamaker in Philadelphia and Federated Department Stores in Wisconsin before joining DFS in Honolulu as Merchandising Vice President.
He was promoted to President of DFS North America and later its Hawaii and Japan operations. According to City and County of Honolulu records, Reed oversaw the growth of revenue for DFS Hawaii/Japan from US$450 million in 1988 to US$800 million in 1995.
After another promotion to Chairman of DFS Pacific Retail he left the company in 1999 to become a director and CEO at start-up tooth whitening company BriteSmile with Co-founder and former DFS co-owner Anthony (Tony) Pilaro, where he worked until 2004.
In November 2006, he became CEO of Pomare, owner of Hawaiiana-themed retailer Hilo Hattie.
Reed was described by his former DFS boss Larry Vogel in 2005 as a “very high-energy, intense” manager who had dramatically revived a division branch that had been performing poorly.
During his years with DFS, he served with distinction on the boards of multiple community and business groups, ranging from the Hawaii Employer’s Council to the Variety School. Reed also acted as President of the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation and Chairman of both Aloha United Way and Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Hawaii-based former DFS executive and consultant Sharon Weiner told The Moodie Davitt Report: “He was a guy of the people, with no pretensions and a complete dedication to the company – especially, to those who worked for him. No suits and ties, just roll up the shirt sleeves and get the job done.
“John managed the Hawaii operations through the ’90s as world events challenged Japanese tourism. The period 1996-7 was especially treacherous. On top of managing the business through the Asian financial crisis there were also, internally, the challenges of managing through the change in DFS ownership [when Co-Founder Chuck Feeney and fellow shareholders Pilaro and Alan Parker sold to LVMH in 1996 while Co-Founder Bob Miller remained – Ed].”
Reed contributed to Miller’s Tale, the biography of Bob Miller (pictured right) written by The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie.
In a memorable anecdote, he recalled the angst between the then privately held group’s four shareholders after the famed Honolulu International Airport ‘overbid’ of 1988 when DFS, expecting a major challenge from Korean travel retailer Lotte Duty Free, tabled a blockbuster US$1.15 billion offer for the Hawaii Airports Division duty-free contract – at the time the highest bid in airport retail history. DFS’s bid was read out first before runner-up Lotte’s was revealed. It was just US$372 million.
Reed, who was President of DFS Hawaii in 1990 when the business became exposed by its onerous guarantees, said: “I think it was the beginning of the end in terms of the relationship between the partners because they were all pissed off at each other. They were beside themselves with this thing because they had laid nearly US$800 million on the table, left it! That’s a lotta money.”
The Moodie Davitt Report joins with those who knew John Reed in expressing our condolences to his and Rose’s children Christina, Kevin and Rachelle and the wider family. ✈
