CRAFTSMANSHIP & SCALING LUXURY WORLDWIDE

Skillionaires Podcast Episode 12

Riadh Bouaziz

[Angela Thomas]

A very warm welcome to another show here in the Skylunaire podcast and today's guest turns textiles into a statement and luxury lines into a global brand. Welcome Rial. Bonsoir.

[Riadh Bouaziz]

Bonsoir. Merci Angela. Thank you so much for being here.

[Angela Thomas]

Rial is the chairman, the CEO and the founder of RKF Luxury Linen and is a leader who actually crafted a whole linen empire to a strategic global expansion brand and his life story embodies the Skylunaire philosophy with stories that stick and strategies that scale. I'm so happy that you're here and I know you come just from a very important exhibition that you attended and thank you so much for stealing yourself a little earlier away and to be on this podcast. Welcome.

[Riadh Bouaziz]

It's my pleasure really being here and also a pleasure since we meet and each time is always very interesting and dynamic and this is what I appreciate. Thanks again.

[Angela Thomas]

Thank you Rial. We met actually not so long ago the first time in our both event that we attended and it was in Riyadh and we had actually not met in the beginning of the event but at a late night stage of the event we was just somehow finding that we have sort of the same energy level and as an entrepreneur you click with another entrepreneur very good and we had good conversations there that was the essence of the event.

I found we had to lay actually pad for this podcast here and I found your story so interesting that I'm very grateful for you to be here and to showcase and pick your brain a little bit for our customers for our clients and listeners to actually see how did you scale.

[Riadh Bouaziz]

It's my pleasure. Thank you.

[Angela Thomas]

RKF tell me what does stand for. I know there's a story behind.

[Riadh Bouaziz]

It's a nice story. It's like my pleasure to share it already. It's like simple.

I'm born in Tunisia in North Africa in the south of France in the Mediterranean Sea and I was when I was young my dream is just to work in the hospitality because going with my parents to the hotel spending a weekend just only one weekend in the summertime it's like wow that's absolutely fantastic having just only the air condition you believe or not it seems for me this is the luxury having the welcome you know and you have the valet you give the kids say wow this is the hospitality it's so beautiful bringing the smile to people this is so great so nice and from there was my dream already I jump in the university in France and I start working and so and then my dream still always in mind and I say one day gonna work in the hotel or in the hospitality industry do I will be a manager of hotel owning an hotel being working in the hotel itself I have no idea but I know that I will do it this is why really what my vision and I was focused on and start working after my engineer diploma and keeping this in mind I want to go and I start moving in different hotels but palaces mostly in Europe to understand what is missing as product and understand how we're gonna have my input in this and to work with this industry and I discover that the linen itself it's missing any like luxury product missing in the industry and we don't find really the touch that how it should be and from there I start making my research and my development to work where I can have an input something high luxury making the difference and I discover that the bathroom mostly you know they have always the pile going out it's not nice and it's not luxury and then I decide to look how deeper I can create and start looking on the different industry producer of the linen and finally I discover one machine that can make me the possibility to create this linen without having the pile going out and then I say wow that's great and let's do it and from there I start the company which was in 2000 and the journey starts and I say in 2005 okay in France I want to be the leader in France end of 2003 three years later we became already the leader of France and then I start to say okay now that's great we have to go also on now bed linen and then I was go to table linen and then I go to the spallion and step by step I was increasing today RKF luxury linen and RKF group is 11 companies with one factory since 1834 one of the oldest in Europe we are present 85 countries we equipped over 50 000 luxury properties all over the world we get already 27 international awards and we have 15 patents and technology and we are the most sustainable company in the world and the most certified company in the world how it makes us already challenging a lot and this is just amazing because having an amazing team having already this vision make it happen it works just only

[Angela Thomas]

one word just be focus and work that's all very good RKF these letters I know they have a bigger meaning to you would you just explain what is behind those letters okay there's also a story I know out of preparation from our from this interview here and also from our midnight after event

[Riadh Bouaziz]

talk you explained and I found this so beautiful RKF the letter three letters of the three brothers my name is Riyad don't the R K is Kareem my second brother and the third is Fadel that is the F of the RKF I'm owning all the group but it's by respect to the family how is very important in life for me for them for my parents for all the family it's very important to keep the three letters and this is is very powerful and it brings us already the vision and the respect of the family

[Angela Thomas]

added to the business you told me in our pre-session that these letters meaning so much to you and you wanted to bring them in out of respect as you just said towards the family members that actually held back for you to push through is that right it is definitely absolutely

[Riadh Bouaziz]

and what is funny my brothers also each one have his own group in another field and all the company also in the name is RKF yes this is very interesting and it's a huge respect

[Angela Thomas]

for all of us very good so let's dive a little bit into the situation that you just outlined that you wanted to be the first company with textiles and bad linen or linen as such in in Europe or in France so tell us what was the one moment where you said I need to shift and I need to scale here and why was your big motivation for that you could have just been some kind of in the local market around make a good living and be settled

[Riadh Bouaziz]

okay since I'm young okay my dream was always to look big and I say I start small but I always look big I want to be international I want to be really worldwide I want to be global and I want to be one person who have a huge impact globally worldwide I mean I'm born with a purpose and I have my perception life how to bring a value for all the end users and for all the consumers of the linen in general that's why I'm really always looking big and building everything and the every single day consider as a challenge to reach a level an expectable level and this is how is motivating me so much when I start I always look I mean I say wow okay today I want to be the leader and then I began and today and the day after I say okay I wanted this target and then reach it and then I wanted this target and then I reach it and I remember in 2007 I meet my team and they say I want to now request you one point and they will suggest to one point that all of you to follow it we will go from the let's say high-end to the luxury they said me what is the difference between and you know there was like someone surprised what do you mean by that I say I want really to be focused to a deep we will change completely the strategy of the company we are really going to look only for the luxury and there was so much surprise I was explaining the meaning in between and the difference and finally it was not easy I take a consultant to tell him okay this is your mission now you have an year to complete to try to convince my team okay definitely to move to that step it was funny because this was 2007 2008 when we was ready in July and we say we're gonna set up the new process of all the new strategy of the company in September after the summer holiday of in in August unfortunately was the financial crisis at that time wow I mean you built a strategy for a year and to set up it and then you have the financial crisis how is very complicated and then the challenges start and you have two choice or you do like everyone and you let you move with the situation okay the global situation financially under the crisis or you say now I'm gonna be like a surfer I'm gonna go on top of the wave and they're gonna make it higher and I don't want to get the wave in front of me I want to go on top of the wave why I want to be ready to travel always in in so far away without having any trouble and this is if this challenge is coming I think it was like my first challenge the first one was in 2003 with the war in in Iraq and the second one is in 2008 with the financial crisis I say wow we're still really young on the market but facing this and this is I think how it's really very powerful since you keep your mind always clear clean and you know where you want to go there is no other choice only to win and if you look as I say since the beginning you want to live big and high the sky is not even a limit you can go much more than that it's only you are the one who is responsible on it I mean there is no limit for everything your ideas you can make them it's not happen where you are based what is your language what is your skills you have or not since you have an idea you have a vision you build a strategy and then you be focused and you move and you have to update yourself daily did I reach the level what I'm waiting for did I reach the level of my expectation no it's not enough tomorrow I gonna more and then more and then more and this is how you're gonna grow you save time and what I say to my team in general I say guys uh what your competitor do in uh two years you have to do it in two months what your competitor do in two months you have to do it in two weeks but what your competitor do in two weeks you should not do it in two days you have two hours only to do it and now this is your challenge and I think if you are really very focused and you have this idea in mind saving time making you winning you can make a mistake there is no problem it's allowed to make a mistake but it's gonna be stupid to repeat it again but you learn from your mistake you grow and I've never seen in my life by the way one businessman never say oh I never fail he's a liar it doesn't exist you fail once twice you face problem you can fail many times but the most important is you have just to stand up again but more powerful than before because you know you're gonna excel you learn from it and it brings you really in another level and this is I think it's the positive mindset the power of this mindset positive one makes you really growing and challenging and

[Angela Thomas]

looking at the beauty of life in a great way I can tell by what you're saying how much power you have and talking about mistakes is one thing that I wanted to dive throughout our interview a little bit more in but first let's stick with the situation that you explained when you tried to convince or transport transmit your idea that you had your goal that you had in front of your mind in front of your eyes towards your team and it didn't work right on the beginning and you had yourself taken some help which is totally good and a very strong reflection but what you think is the most important thing when it comes to leadership to help actually your team to follow your dream and the goal that you have because a lot of people I feel they are opting out what you do then if they're opting out you try to convince them stay or what options try to get them another angle of what is the perspective possible or you just let them go

[Riadh Bouaziz]

I think first of all to have a right team with you there is first of all the trust if you are you are a leader a leader is not a word it's a real person who act but he will not act once a year yes he act almost every day every every even every hour every minute he have to be extremely aware about everything and take the right decision but he's a human the leader can make mistakes but he have to admit that this is a mistake and he have to also to learn from his mistakes and also to share with the team it's not a competition internally it's a dream team that you make it happen and if you are surrounded by the right ones you have a right hand you have a left hand you have like all this close team to you and there is a huge trust between you will really go so big because this team makes you really growing up and the others and they work because there is a vision of the company and they see the company the level the stages where it's going for example you say challenge oh we're gonna open this new country uh okay now we are in 85 countries if tomorrow are you gonna say guys our challenge is to be in 90 countries or be in 95 or 100 countries we're gonna work on I know we have to select which countries where we are not and we're gonna focus on and then we're gonna work hard to do but I will not say there's two words we have to build a strategy country by country how to gonna do it how to open it how to make it and it doesn't come like this that's why we have to build it if tomorrow I say guys we have this target we want to work with this brand for example yeah but you say it's very complicated why it's very complicated there is nothing is complicated if at the same time you want to work with them probably they are waiting you that they want also a dream probably to work with you don't lose your time use it in a correct way that you will reach your target in a fast way but in a correct way and this is how it works in general probably there is a lot of advice daily you're gonna have with your team you're gonna support them even they do mistakes you have to I will not say congratulate them but you have to admit that this mistake but it's okay but you will not be angry against you just be a gentle correct respectable with them and you have to accept it with a smile and say the next one I will not see it again and when you do it like this people appreciate it because there is always this respectable relationship how it makes you really growing and that's why surrounded by the right people based on the respect and the trust you're gonna agree yeah that is a good

[Angela Thomas]

thing actually also to allow your team to make mistakes and learn from it also brings you as a company forward to learn in total from it and to scale even better when it comes to scaling yeah we talked about your team how many team members employees you have at this moment can you count few hundreds okay and back in the days when you and I started basically we had always the understanding of scaling with increasing the team over workforce nowadays we go into another time era of AI and I bet you get all of kind of these questions but I wanted to know how do you implement AI in the workforce that you have and also how is it helping you with scaling what are the big

[Riadh Bouaziz]

leverage points in your company thanks for the question is very nice one okay AI we speak about it like now few years already and and it was the topic everyone was afraid okay we're gonna replace us and this and this you know guys it's today each one of you will be his own manager because you're gonna have your own agent how we're gonna work for you this virtual agent will be will support you in your job the most important I go to each one of you simplify his job to be more creative being more creative it means you're gonna take the simple actions you do daily to reduce the mistakes to save your time because AI can work 24 hours you're gonna give them the instruction to do it during the night you arrive in the morning and you're gonna find a lot of job already done it makes you really saving time don't having these mistakes but also at the same time you will be the one who is responsible on your team you have like how many assistants you're gonna have a lot there is no problem but the most important I want you to be more creative more innovator and bringing a plus and value optimize your time in making really great and the AI will be your big support and you will appreciate it if you take in a right way we cannot today replace people especially in the factory definitely not because they work and it's very important you know there is the work by hand how is the human presence is very important the brain of our brain also it's very important because the one who gives the right idea to the AI who gives the right question to AI who have request the AI to have the support but it's not the opposite yes that's why it's very important we have to control it always we have to use it in a smart way in a smart way yes but not

[Angela Thomas]

to replace our people I always say to my team you put shit in you get shit out exactly yes and I wanted to know um when you talk about scaling or when you think about scaling and when I talk about scaling myself it is all the time that I tell the clients or the founders or the business owners that I'm working with that it is so crucially important not only to receive more revenue but also to grow as a person to be able to receive this revenue on the other hand we are all humans and we wanted to probably have somebody in our life and there is a life partner be it a husband be it a wife be it a fiancee or whatever this person that you choose to be on any path of your crow in the game how important do you think is it to get her or him the acknowledgement of what is going on in the business is it out of your point more destructive to share it after you come home after you finished your work with this person or is it beneficial to share with this person to take her or him along the way in the path what would you actually advise some young founder that maybe you have in your company the next generation or any of your business friends that you have somebody that you would mentor what would be your

[Riadh Bouaziz]

advice in that case I think all of us first of all we are different now it depends what is your target in life if your target is to reach one point and to be unstoppable and to reach the position that you are looking for we say in the beginning we have to be focused if your partner is someone who share with you exactly the same philosophy share with you exactly the same ambition you are in the same field or not and you feel that this person exactly have the same mindset then it's gonna work if in case there is definitely a difference between you I will not can say it will slow down but probably gonna be different that's why it's all of us is completely different our situation of each one and having a family having kids don't having kids when you start your business you start it really extremely young or when you start to work and then you resign you start your project you can there is no limit to start your job whenever you want at your 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s there is no problem the most important when you feel that you are ready you jump from the other side this is your challenge but when you have to do it it's not a joke because you are in your comfort zone today and you have your business and so and you are relaxed I mean not you have your business you are like salary you have your income or you're gonna start working you say okay I'm in comfort zone this is 90 of the people but being from the other 10 being a leader it's a challenge having the challenge when one day you start to say okay now I have to work hard I have no income it's only my time will make me an income to live because I have expenses and so this is it's another story if you do that and you will not sleep during the night and you will not feel comfortable or you start you take money you are wealthy or not and you start the business and you will not win and it makes you destroy your life in in one sometime because you are not focused or because you are not reaching what you are expecting there is different reasons perhaps you are not surrounded by the right people perhaps your idea is not good perhaps your idea is good but you was not using the right ingredients to make it happen correctly and all this it happen of each one I think the most important point is again being focused starting small looking big it's not matter of you are wealthy or not it's not matter you have someone in your side or not you can have just on your parents you're gonna start your business they're gonna be your great support you're gonna have a brother a sister they're gonna be also a group great support just be focused this is what I can say again but if you see your future that you are the one who gonna build it it's not your parents will do it for you it's not your brothers and sister or husband and wife or kids will do it for you you are the only one it's exactly when we say your health when you take care about your health you are the only one responsible on your health no one can take care of it that's a very

[Angela Thomas]

important point yeah when it comes to health and sport I always have the understanding if you are not flexible in your body you cannot be flexible in your mind so how do you implement as an entrepreneur health fitness and do you even implement it in your workflow in your daily life how are you keeping that machine of yours really maintained and what is your what is your perspective of what impact it is in totally of a scaling strategy you you know you have took two category

[Riadh Bouaziz]

of people you go in the US most of people they live with one purpose money they only speak money they breathe money they only you know they are looking only on that point you go in many other reasons the words it depends where and depends the people how they look what they think and how they act some of them they look at also the same some others they say oh no no I'm my my life is my priority other ones is my fitness and my my my health is my priority each one is different now being to a leader for me it should be uh focus not only on business it's a balance the life is a balance and you cannot succeed in life and work as a crazy because the most important is not to work hard is to work smart and working smart is very important it means you have to give time for work but you have to give time for your friends you have to give time to your family and you have to give time to your body and your health and if you take the time because you travel a lot this is all this time is missing how you have to act managing dealing looking at the strategy traveling making business uh growing uh I mean it's like a lot of things at the same time plus your private life it's very complicated and that's why is the sport and the workout if you do it your healthy lifestyle will make you succeeding correctly because you're going to control the stress differently you will control your body differently will control your mind differently and you will in so good shape in your mind and your body that it makes much more powerful coming to my example for example today I mean I'm the one who uh I cannot stop to be old and they decide one day to say like everyone by the way we cannot stop to be old we have two cases with two two two options in our life or we continue our life we can drink we can have fun we can go with friends and so during the weekend even during the week or I decide now is my case first I never drink I never smoke but uh I I cut a lot of sugar and stuff and so and I do daily workout even I'm traveling even I have no time 10 minutes when I wake up in the morning I do my 10 minutes in the room close to my bed in the hotel in anywhere I do I have to do it I must do it these 10 minutes it makes me really really fresh good and in good shape I travel in the plane I go in the back of the plane I exercise in the back of the plane even I can exist on my chair in the plane okay yes if I have the possibility to do it I do it why I have to lose time I have really always to optimize this time because my body need it but also my mind need it exactly and this is very important because you feel so good so fresh but you think you when you wake up you look yourself and you exercise in the morning before you go to job you look in the mirror and say I'm the one I'm already ready that's fine are you gonna be the killer today it's a great day it's a challenge but I will do it and this is I think the beauty since you have this positivity of this mindset you can really grow well and finally you know life it's it's it's it's amazing because it's beauty you have a lot of challenge and I say my target in my life at 78 years old don't ask me why it's 78 and don't tell me my my my my numbers because it comes like this in my mind and I say at 78 I I don't want that the kids of my kids run with me with the I'm in the wheelchair I want to run with them yes and at my 85 years old I want to have and keeping my six packs this is what I want this is my challenge I want that very good and that's absolutely fantastic and every single morning I look at myself in the mirror and say yes that's great keep it go now you have to increase it now I want you to I speak to myself and say now I want you to be better than that you're gonna be better than that okay let's do it and it motivate myself I'm proud of myself.

[Angela Thomas]

Subconsciously also I think you're telling yourself or you're keeping the promise of doing it and this actually transmits us also very much discipline to be disciplined as an entrepreneur of keeping your promise you know like I always say you do not believe a business partner that you get actually so many times to meet for a for a fitness meet up and then they don't show up how they're gonna do it in in their business they also one time are rescheduling and don't keep their word so that is actually something that you also transmit with being that disciplined and also motivate yourself in in the morning with just such a small number

[Riadh Bouaziz]

of minutes isn't it yeah but you know you can do a lot in 10 minutes because I do between two to three hundred abdominals in the morning wow yes and I do also my push-ups and I do my elastic bands in the head in the leg of the bed yeah I use my elastic band I do it in the door I do everything that I know it will affect it's no excuse you know people I have no time to go to gym I don't want to go to the gym I don't even need to have materials just only the power of the mindset you want it you want to be fresh you want to succeed your meeting you want to lead the meeting you want to win your meeting you want to sign this contract you have to be clear in your mind being clear in your mind you have to be also top in your body being like that you are very powerful when you reach the place you are so strong with this discipline you know that you're gonna lead

[Angela Thomas]

the business and finally you're gonna succeed very good Rieta I wanted to come back to the product that you have you said earlier you're producing it yourself and you want it to be not only high level but luxury so tell me a little bit how important is for a scale strategy not only the strategy but the product and I think it is something very remarkable that you as an entrepreneur are not looking for the weak point or for the shortcut to go do it in China and I would like to know a little bit more about the quality of the product of whenever you wanted to scale how important is the quality of the product the challenge is you know when

[Riadh Bouaziz]

when you bring a new product on the market and you think that having this product on the market you are the one and so you you have a lot of producers existing since 100 years even more when you arrive on the market you have to build the credibility how people will trust and look at your credibility in a great way is only through the product because they don't know you you have first of all to innovate you have to bring on the market something new if you just make copy for what existing already you have no place or you're gonna play with the small ones tomorrow you wanna we be we as a leader you have to be a hybrid you have to be unique you have to be different in this case I take a choice two choices how is the DNA today of the company the first one is the innovation and focus on innovation we have 15 patents and technology right now and we look a lot on sustainability every single like a year two years maximum we have to bring a new technology new patents on the market this is it it's not even a challenge it's a must how we gonna be always in advance comparing to all what happened on the market and the second DNA is to decide to make a fashion défilé de haute couture it means the fashion show during the fashion weeks and this is it's just amazing because you bring also a value you never seen a bathrobe haute couture one you know on the market this is it's it's unusual but this is interesting because you bring a value homeware everywhere and this is is a new fashion vision strategically bringing the value on the market you feel yourself like as a model you're gonna walk with your bathrobe as a haute couture dress you're gonna go with to the party you're gonna go somewhere and you're gonna enjoy even your breakfast in the morning in the hotel or even in the in the in the lounge outside and you feel like so elegant and so chic and this is i think since you have always a crazy ideas nice ones different than what exists on the market you became a leader because you are you are um um how i say we create the new vision and the new strategy and you bring a big value on the market that it doesn't exist then the market will listen to you then the market needs to more and if you do it once and they say okay it's small player when you do it twice ah it became like interesting if you did third time wow now he's bringing something very very interesting if you go more than that and you develop it you became the iconic one and then you are the leader and then everyone is waiting for what you're gonna bring because they know that you are the leader and it's possible to make it to everyone since you have ideas make it don't hesitate just be focused and believe me you're gonna be the winner

[Angela Thomas]

do you have the quality of the products that you have in each country i mean it's almost 60 countries you mentioned 85 countries sorry sorry but yeah is the quality does the quality has to be different in the different countries or is it always the same uh quality is one country requires another material another quality yeah or do you have always the same quality okay uh we we we sell

[Riadh Bouaziz]

a brand yeah the brand is very powerful with the quality with our research our development and everything now because you bring a new product a new technology is this technology you're gonna find it all globally worldwide people need it and this is what's interesting because you're gonna bring a value for your your resort for your spa for your restaurant for your hotel for your room guest experience you are looking for and when we have the patents and technology for it because we create something wow and this uh wow effect very sustainable amazing one having like this long lifespan and having the amazing guest experience and this is how it makes you already making the difference comparing to any product on the market people are really looking at it wherever you are in the world they look only to get this amazing product it's gonna be the dream soft unit timeless microfield wherever it is as a product the most important is they want it what we do is to be it bespoke because every product we do is a bespoke according to the property and we have also the philosophy and the approach of the country where we are for example right now saudi arabia is growing is growing such crazy i wanted to ask you that because i'm learning

[Angela Thomas]

arabic actually and i wanted to know from you actually how uh you predict uh how do you predict actually the um yeah the forecast of the development of the of the country as we was in in saudi i went to the library and i literally saw very less english business related uh lecture uh i i found one um english lecture for from siemens how to make a refrigerator how a refrigerator works and it was what 1978 or something and and that was one of the one english business related books that i found there so how do you think it is developing future wise

[Riadh Bouaziz]

today if we see the market the trouble globally we have i mean the economic situation the different war here and there the different troubles like different things happen right now in the world and one region is the gcc region as we see here in dubai still very dynamic and all around the region is very dynamic and saudi arabia is also much more dynamic than anyone the giga project we have in the pipe and they deliver by the way because not it's only that if we can see for example we see global how it's going truly so well amala alola there is the different project now in derriere gate or in in so many different places it's just only wonderful and when you see this giga project the investment the quality the target what they are looking for and uh they they have we have some examples like chebara and desert trunk the two new properties just open in ritzy uh and they are just stunning it's really something out of the box we are we we knows already the luxury in the hospitality industry how it is but taking these two examples they are absolutely unique and this is what i like i mean because you have is all this smartness in a way that it's done and all the project what we see right now in the pipe and we are in some of them really really very interesting ones we say this is really great a challenge but why it works well it works well because they have the idea you have the decision and you have the action and when they say the action it's not only because uh we compare action to europe and action here the action in europe because all the legislative administrative points and so and it takes ages before you start doing anything here it's much easier when the decision it take we go to action and straight away it's gone and it works and that it makes really fast and we reach uh a level of speed in a great way it's really absolutely impressive that is exactly the same example like in dubai when you see the result of dubai it's a very young country it's a very young country but it's so amazing what they was reaching what they was doing it's a stunning it's really an example in saudi right now they are going not in the same way different way but it's a saudi uh a style but it's so interesting as an example the grow in saudi is very important and also they have they bring the best to build all these projects in a fast way but in a great way and i think again surrounded it's like your team if you are surrounded by the right ones yes you're gonna win it's exactly if you bring the right people to build the new project and the iconic people the creative ones you can also make something wow and this is i think it's always in any business you have it's the same like like you have a relationship tomorrow you are a corporate brand and you want to really be the leader as a corporate brand in the world you have to be surrounded by your business partners how also our leaders each one in his field that's important makes you iconic and this is it happen in any single business that is a great advice for the

[Angela Thomas]

last point on our on our screen your podcast here thank you for sharing that surrounding the people i always say you are the average of those people that you surround yourself the most with so thank you rian of being here and thank you for your time and that we was able to pick your brain thank you so much thank you