RL: Did you always know that you would work in the family business?
ALT: I actually started out as an architect. I trained overseas, came home, and opened my own practice. I was in my early 20s, so I played around a lot but also did some nice houses. I didn’t make any money, though! Then, in 1977, my parents said: "Look, we’ve been working hard to build this business, but now you need to come and help." My sister Berna Thompson Cummins was the principal of Triple C school at the time, and a year after I joined the company, she gave up teaching and joined me. So, I guess it was expected, yes.

RL: What was your first role at ALT’s?
ALT: I’d grown up in the business, so from age nine, I helped out, weighing nails, assembling wheelbarrows, and so on. When I officially began working there, the business was very small, just my parents and me, so I did whatever needed to be done, including driving a forklift – I still love doing that! I got very involved in ordering, stocking, and selling appliances initially, but when my mother passed away, Berna and I pretty much took over running the business.

RL: What values did your parents instil in you?
ALT: Hard work and respect. I try to treat people well and have a great relationship with my employees. A lot of business leaders don’t care about that, but I take time to get to know my employees, and I know it’s appreciated.

RL: What is your proudest achievement in your career?
ALT: Designing and building the current store after Ivan. I wasn’t sure the business would survive, but I had to do something, so I put my head down and got it done. The store is 160,000 square feet, so it is definitely my ‘biggest’ achievement.

RL: What advice would you give to young people considering starting a business?
ALT: Small businesses are the bedrock of the economy, so I encourage others to start businesses. My main advice would be to work hard and don’t take everything out of it. If you put everything you can back into the business, you will be rewarded in the long run.

RL: What are some important lessons or skills you’ve learned in your career?
ALT: First, I never take the attitude that I know everything because I don’t. Every single day, I learn something new. Second, I have learned to delegate because it’s not possible to do it all yourself. And third, you have to accept failure sometimes. Not everything or everyone will be perfect all the time.

RL: How will the acquisition of Cox Lumber Ltd. benefit your customers?
ALT: Cox Lumber always had a great sales service, and we were not as strong in that area, but our retail operations were better, so by combining the two, we hope to get the best of both worlds. I know there were a few who voiced concern that this would mean that we would have a monopoly on building materials and could, therefore, put any price we wanted on our goods. I want to reassure people that this is absolutely not our intention. There is nothing we sell that our customers can’t buy elsewhere,
so we have to remain competitive with similar businesses in other markets. Being bigger gives us greater purchasing power, and we will pass those savings
on to our customers.

RL: How do you like to spend your free time?
ALT: I don’t have a lot of free time – I work eight days a week! But I work out at the
gym three times a week, and I have a farm in East End where we plan to raise beef cattle. We’ve also planted 300 avocado trees and some faster-growing crops, like melon, cucumber, and pumpkin, which will produce while we wait for the avocados to bear fruit. I go there every week. It’s so quiet and peaceful out there – that’s where I relax.

RL: What, if any, plans do you have for A. L. Thompson’s going forward?
ALT: Our focus for the coming year or so will simply be on integrating the two businesses and making sure they run smoothly. We have no further expansion plans. We will just keep working hard and improving.