Donald John Lewin

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(11 June 193325 October 2024) was a British businessman. He was the founder and former chairman of

Clinton Cards Clintons, previously branded as Clinton Cards, is a chain of stores in the UK founded in 1968 by Don Lewin and best known for selling greeting cards. It also sells soft toys and related gift products. It was listed on the London Stock Excha ...

, a chain of greeting cards shops in the United Kingdom. He and his family were estimated to be worth £139 million in 2008.

Biography

Lewin was born on 11 June 1933 in Bow, London, the son of a chimney sweep. After leaving school at the age of 15, he worked for a building firm, did two years of

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, sold brushes from door to door, sold credit and, when he was 26, got a job as a freelance salesman selling greeting cards to retailers. In 1968, he opened a specialist greeting card shop in Epping, Essex, and created the company

, named after his son, Clinton. He opened a chain of seven shops, five of which he then sold to reinvest in larger shops in better locations. By 1988, he had created a chain of 87 shops and floated the company on the stock exchange for a valuation of £20 million, retaining 50 per cent of the shares and using money raised to acquire rival greeting cards chains. By 2004, the company had 800 shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland, was valued at £180 million on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

and had sales of £360 million. The family stake in the business, share sales and other assets were estimated to be worth £139 million in 2008. In 2012, the business had 767 shops and employed 8,000 people but went into administration later that year. Lewin was made an

in 1996 and his autobiography, ''Think of a Card'', was published in 2008. He died on 25 October 2024, at the age of 91.

References

1933 births 2024 deaths British retail company founders People from Bow, London Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{UK-business-bio-1930s-stub