John Lunn: ‘My true passion for our industry came during my year with Cartier in Madrid’

Lunn’s managing director has been nominated in the Established Business Category for this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year awardsJohn Lunn: 'Our family business is most often about helping our clients mark significant moments in their lives.' Photograph: Naoise Culhane John Lunn is the managing director of Lunn’s, working closely alongside his sister Suzanne, marketing director, and his father Peter, chairman.A family jewellery business in the UK and Ireland, led by the third generation, it has created partnerships with recognisable names in watches and jewellery, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier and David Yurman, as well as its own jewellery collections.John became managing director in 2012 and has overseen the opening of six stores in the past seven years, the full restoration of Queen’s Arcade in Belfast and, more recently, the launch of the company’s own high jewellery capsule collection, Grove.What vision/light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business?READ MORELunn’s was actually started by my grandfather, also John, in 1954. I had worked in our family business during school holidays to help out but my true passion for our industry came during my year with Cartier in Madrid in 2002, specifically during the exciting launch of its new jewellery collection the following year, Le Baiser du Dragon (The Kiss of the Dragon).What is your business model and what makes it unique?Our family business is most often about helping our clients mark significant moments in their lives with pieces that can last a lifetime and perhaps even be passed down through generations, with a customer experience to make all of this as special as possible. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, and we apply this same approach to our valued brand partnerships.What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it?The 2008 global recession impacted luxury retail for many years thereafter. It was a very challenging time, with many lessons learned along the way, but what helped us more than anything was not panicking and always staying absolutely true to who we are, which involved striving to work only with the finest products supported by the very best expertise and client experience.What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out?The best piece of advice was a Franklin D Roosevelt quote shared with me some years ago: “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.”The worst advice I’ve often found is anything with too much of a short-term focus, rather than seeing the bigger picture and the long game.What makes your company a good place to work?First, we are an accredited great place to work, but I believe this is something we very much demonstrate daily. For instance, our Lunn’s values were developed by our team via our colleague voice group and presented to our board with unanimous agreement, rather than the other way round. We offer a range of benefits, but I believe it’s the ethos behind these that’s key.What are you doing to disrupt, innovate and improve the products or services you offer?In our jewellery, we have always focused on bringing together the best gemstones with the finest goldsmithing and craftsmanship. Our recently launched Grove collection, combining themes of the Irish landscape and our family heritage, allows our in-house expertise in gem-buying and design to take this to the next stage. I would also add the continual evolution of our showrooms, such as the redevelopment of our Rolex store last year.What moment/deal would you cite as the “game changer” or turning point for the company?The restoration of Queen’s Arcade stands out, with my sister Suzanne being pivotal in this alongside our director of operations Andrew Burns. But more significantly, I would say it has been my father’s total commitment to our people-first culture. His priority is always to check in regularly on our existing team, and he meets all new team members. He cares immensely, and this mindset drives so much towards our overall approach.IN THIS SECTION