François Roberge, CEO of La Vie en Rose | “My role is to be a motivating firefighter”

Every Friday, a person from the business world reveals themselves in our section. This week, François Roberge, CEO and owner of La Vie en Rose, answers our questions.

What kind of consumer are you?

I don’t consume much. In clothes I only wear black and I wear out my clothes and underwear a lot. Where I like to consume, where I have pleasure, it’s funny to say, but it’s on my farm, on the tractors. I have eight Kubotas. This is the place where I spend the most. I don’t have a sports car, I’m not an Amazon freak, but I love seeing consumers spend!

Your method for finding good ideas?

Go chop some wood. I go to my farm one day a week and when I work in the woods, it’s dangerous, so I clear my head. And emptying your brain, it seems like it opens your mind. I turn off my phone and try to have a nice day doing something that feels good. The other factor that helps me is that, as president, I see the forest while the employees see the trees. So I have a slightly more distant view of certain issues. So when I arrive at a complicated issue, I often have a better understanding of the solutions.

How do you describe your role?

My role is to be a motivating firefighter. I always take the image of a canoe. There are 12 of us in the boat, plus me. If someone is going slower and the canoe changes position, my first reaction is always to go to the person changing the speed of the canoe and motivate them, work with them and find the solution.

Do you have a hidden talent?

I’m very good with numbers. I always find what doesn’t work in financial projections. I’m very good at it, but I don’t know why. I have an innate gift for finding what’s wrong with business proposals, solutions, calculations or cashflows. Everyone is a little disconcerted. It’s funny, because I hated it, but my best subject at HEC was accounting.

Another profession that you would have liked to pursue?

My first diploma is in dairy technology. When I was 16 or 17, I thought I would be a farmer. I worked on my father’s farm for a long time when my parents divorced, but I didn’t get paid. I told my father I would leave if he didn’t pay me and he didn’t pay me. So, I left. I arrived in Montreal and met Paul Delage Roberge [son oncle, fondateur des boutiques San Francisco et des Ailes de la mode]then I discovered the stores. I think that if my father had paid me, I would still be a farmer and entrepreneur, with market gardening and several livestock farms. But life took me elsewhere.

Are you more radio, podcast or music?

I am a radio… -. I love news. I don’t know why, but every time it comes on and 59, I turn on the radio. I travel a lot, so I listen to the radio a lot, but I don’t have time to turn on the TV. I’m just watching the news, The Press and -. I don’t listen to podcasts.

Do you have any apps on your phone that you are addicted to?

Yes, it is important for maple syrup [il possède une érablière] and it’s WeatherBug. I find it to be the most accurate weather site. It’s up front, on the first page. And the other one, which I use a lot, is Electric Circuit. I have an electric vehicle and when I travel I have to plan.

What is the best investment of your life?

For me, coming from a dysfunctional family, it’s having built the family. My wife and my children, it’s so deep. But I won’t hide the fact that La Vie en Rose, all the same, is my gold mine. But it’s interrelated because two of my three children are going to take over La Vie en Rose. All my dreams are coming true. I have three children. One of my daughters is a doctor. She’ll never be in business, but she has a third of the company. I decided that all three had a right to my heritage.

A book that you often recommend?

The art of victory by Phil Knight. This is the biography of the founder of Nike. I read it twice and sometimes I had tears, because it made me think of myself so much. My journey is a bit similar to his, even if it’s bigger, it’s in the billions. To see how hard he worked, how he fought to find money… That’s exactly what I did for 24 years. I always tried to struggle to find the money to grow. It’s a beautiful, touching story. When you read this, as an entrepreneur, it gives you hope. You must never give up.

The ideal retirement?

In January I will start my 44^e year in retail. It’s a tiring job. I am 62 years old and in three years, I would like to leave my place to young people, because I find that the future is technology, and they are good at it. I will become chairman of the board. I will no longer be in everyday life. I’m going to stick to strategy, but daily life is heavy. I will go live on my farm, I will plant trees and I will travel, but I will not just see factories and shopping centers. I will see real life. I would like to take the time to feel the history of the earth. It has always fascinated me.