by Elfi
If one expects to see the typical, distinguished English
gentleman, one wouldn’t be disappointed by meeting Martyn Bell, Managing
Director of ‘Boots’.
Born in Brighton to a rather ‘exotic’ family, (his father was a British sailor
on an American aircraft carrier and his mother spent her childhood in India) the
family moved, not long after Martyn’s birth, to London.
E: “Have you traveled a lot yourself as the son of a sailor?”
M: “Let’s say it like this, I was very accustomed to traveling. And I’ve had to
do it many times for business.”
E: “Was it for Boots or some other company?”
M: “For my second company. After I finished Manchester University I went to work
for Kraft General Food, and I stayed with them for many years. But still being
young and adventurous, I changed to an Aero Space business called Bell
Helicopters. Even though it has the same name as I, the company didn’t belong to
me or my family. I worked with them for 15 years selling helicopters and cars.
This brought me to many countries, mostly to the States but also to Asia, to
places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia, but never to
Thailand.”
E: “Such a short distance from Thailand and you never made it over here.
Wouldn’t it have been possible to jump into a helicopter and fly over?”
M: “Not quite. You see, selling helicopters doesn’t mean I can also fly them.”
E: “I see. Why did you change to Boots from a rather exciting market?”
M: “It is not too easy to sell a lot of helicopters. But that was not the
reason, I simply missed the consumer business. After I received an offer from
Boots, I went happily back into my ‘old’ business. Now I have been working for
them for the last ten years.”
E: “Only in England or did you have to travel also?”
M: “Only in England, except for the last nine months I’ve spent in Thailand.
Since then, my company has been in a partnership with Bill Heinecke, the owner
of Royal Garden Plaza.”
E: “How do you like it in Thailand?”
M: “I’ve seen a bit already, but not too much since we have been busy preparing
to open five shops in Thailand (four in Bangkok and one in Pattaya), which we
finally accomplished within the last month. You can surely imagine it was a lot
of work and pressure. Coming back to your question, I was very surprised at my
first impression. When I arrived in Thailand, I expected to see a country like
Jakarta back in 1980, but what I saw was more like Singapore or Hong Kong
nowadays. Very sophisticated. Everybody has warned me about the traffic, but
it’s not so bad. Definitely not worse than in London during the rush-hours. Of
course, Bangkok always seems to be in a rush-hour London-style. All in all I was
very pleasantly surprised.”
E: “How about Pattaya?”
M: “The first time I came to Pattaya was last November in the middle of a
tropical storm. It was not very pleasant, but the next day I was surprised
again. Expecting a sin-city, I found instead this town is actually a family
town. Look at the Royal Garden Plaza - very family oriented. Just driving around
and not knowing the ‘secret’ places, you can hardly find them. It makes me feel
good about Pattaya. It shows that bad press can give people the wrong
impression.”
E; “Are you coming often to Pattaya?”
M: “At the beginning not so much, but since the new Boots shop is open, I most
certainly will. Especially on weekends. It will probably give me a chance to
pander my hobby: windsurfing!”
E: “Oh, you are at the right place then. We have two Thai champions from Pattaya
and there are always a lot of competitions going on.”
M: “Talking about champions, two of the top-windsurfers of England, the Barker
brothers, come from my original hometown Brighton. Everybody knows them back
there and I always admired them. I have bought a surf board already and, after
everything is settled down a bit, I will certainly go and surf in Jomtien.”
E: “It’s nice that such a busy man like you still has a hobby. Is there
something else?”
M: “My hobbies range from work to windsurfing, tennis, and music.”
E: “Coming from England you are probably a big fan of the Beatles? They were
great in your time, I suppose?”
M: “Yes, they were. But actually I am a Bob Dylan fan, besides classical music
and ballet. Not that I ever danced myself, I love to watch it.”
E: “Not too much chance in Thailand, though there are some performances in
Bangkok. Since I know your hobbies already, tell me a bit more about your
private life.”
M: “Nothing much to tell. I work all the time, I have been divorced for ten
years, never re-married, but I have two beautiful children, a son 26, and a
daughter 23. They are both in London and I sincerely hope they will make it out
to visit me this year.”
E: “Living alone in Thailand, that’s kind of strange. No Thai girlfriend so
far?”
M: “No. I have lived here for nine months and have not had much time to go out.
I was actually never approached by a Thai girl, they are all only very friendly
and nice. It also might be because I avoid going to those certain places. Before
moving to Thailand I got a lot of advice from people back home. If you heed
their words, you won’t get in trouble. I find the Thais, no matter if they are
police, co-workers or even strangers, are very helpful and naturally friendly.
Nobody gives you a bad look, just the opposite, they always have a big smile
ready.”
E: “That’s always nice to hear. Have you had any other experiences so far?”
M: “Yes, I certainly did. Back in London, living so close to the Palace, I never
had the chance to meet the Queen. Here in Thailand, I was invited when she came
to visit last November and it was a great honour for me to be able to speak a
few words with her. My second great experience was when I received an invitation
from His Majesty King Bumibol to His palace.”
E: “But you had only been in Thailand a few weeks then. How come you had this
honour?”
M: “I was very surprised myself. The story is: The founder of Boots, Jerry
Boots, donated the land where the Nottingham University is built. Six weeks ago,
His Majesty was made H.C. Doctor of Law by this very University. The ceremony
took place at the Royal Palace about six weeks ago and I was invited. Expecting
lots of people, I was rather astounded to find only a few selected ones. It made
me feel very proud and honored. One can say, here in Thailand during a short
period, I twice had the experience of a life time.”
E: “Those great experiences make you feel good about Thailand. Does that mean
you are going to stay here for a long time?”
M: “I am not sure yet. I planned to stay for about three years, but after that I
couldn’t tell you yet. I most probably would like to stay longer. Time will
tell.”
E: “Thank you very much for this interview and I hope all works out well for you
and for the Boots shops and we will see much of you in Pattaya.”
