Sharing vision key to Lock & Lock's success

Lock & Lock employees pose with elementary school students in a Shanghai school to which they donated table tennis tables and other recreational supplies on April 24, 2012.

By Lee Hyo-sik

Lock & Lock Chairman Kim Joon-il, a self-made CEO who made national headlines when he took the company public in 2010, stresses the importance of sharing common vision among all of the company’s staff. Only then, can the organization move in one direction and become successful, he said.

“I prefer to hire employees capable of sharing goals and working together with others even though they speak no foreign language,” Kim said. “This cooperative effort creates positive synergy and pushes the entire organization forward in a unified manner.”

According to the chairman, he tries to communicate with executives and workers as often as possible, despite his busy schedule. “I spend many days traveling overseas. But I try to communicate with employees in a candid manner. As we all know, the answer is in the field. You need to hear from those on the ground to make the right decisions.”

The chairman then stressed the importance of having a resilient spirit even during the times of adversity. “Life is harsh. It is not easy to succeed. We should not dodge difficulty. We must face and overcome it. To do so, we need to be creative and become a person of action.”

Kim, born in Daegu in 1952, came to Seoul after graduating from high school, and began working as a salesman. In 1978 when he was 26, he founded a logistics firm. Seven years later, he founded Lock & Lock and developed it into one of the world’s largest kitchenware markers.

Students in a school in Vietnam hold “Love Bottle” on March 19, 2012. Lock & Lock began selling the bottle in 2010, using the proceeds to improve elementary school facilities across the country.

Active CSR activities overseas

In line with its growing business, Lock & Lock has been implementing a wide range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in China.

“Many multinational companies are only interested in making money in China through a marketing blitz. But to truly win the hearts and minds of Chinese consumers, businesses should be first respected and loved by local communities,” Kim said. “Lock & Lock always puts customers before anything else and engages in various charitable activities to improve the welfare of the underprivileged.”

Since Lock & Lock entered China in 2004, it has been donating its stores’ daily revenues nationwide on Children’s Day, which falls on June 1. The money is spent to improve the educational environment for children of poor families, and to provide medical services.

In addition, the kitchenware maker partnered with an elementary school in Shanghai in April last year, donating computers and other academic and recreational supplies to the school. The company also invited 50 children of poor families in the area to the Shanghai Expo in 2010.

In Vietnam, Lock & Lock also engages in a number of CSR activities. It has offered scholarships to students who want to study or work in Korea, and has extended financial aid to improve the livelihood of low-income households.

In 2010, it began making the “Love Bottle,” designed by a group of elementary school students. The company has built more classrooms at elementary schools across the country with the proceeds generated by the sale.

“We will continue to help those in need in China, Vietnam and other countries in order to become an exemplary corporate citizen,” Kim said.