Going for entrepreneurial gold in high- stakes auctioneering means ‘ a lot’

FROM ‘ O. K.’ ( FURNITURE) IN KELOWNA TO AN OUTSTANDING RECORD IN ORLANDO, RITCHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS COFOUNDER DAVE RITCHIE HAS LED A LIFE OF INDUSTRIOUS FORESIGHT AND FORTUITY

David E. Ritchie — known as ‘ Dave’ to thousands of global heavy equipment buyers — is known for his simple and singular service standard — treat your customers like your friends and they will always be your customers. Today, Ritchie Bros. is the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, operating in 27 countries.

Dave was born in then small- town Kelowna, BC in 1936. During high school Dave honed his selling skills at his family’s O. K. Used Furniture store and joined his brothers Ken and John to help run the business after graduation. Expansion plans ensued for sporting goods, a fitting choice since all three men were true outdoor enthusiasts.

But not until a fateful call from the bank demanding a $ 2K payment on their $ 10K loan was their auction company unwittingly born. Prudently, a friend suggested holding an auction to raise the money. In a pinch, the brothers held an unreserved auction at Scout Hall, selling furniture and other second- hand items to the highest bidders, without minimums or reserve prices. They reached their goal and found they had fun. Brothers Dave, John and Ken Ritchie in the O. K. Used Furniture Store in Kelowna.

Selling used goods by unreserved auction sunk in deeply with the brothers and their already- acquired ‘ secondhand sense’, and they easily and enthusiastically transitioned to auction sales. Three weeks later, they organized another unreserved auction. This time, the auctioneer they hired cancelled at the very last minute due to an emergency. At the last second, brother Ken stepped in and conducted his first auction. Eventually the auctioneer who left them in the lurch revealed his ‘ false alarm’ and disclosed his true agenda — to unleash the brothers’ own auctioneering ability. It worked like a charm. They gained the true confidence they needed to build a business in that historic auction.

The Ritchie brothers were highly social — they worked hard, hosted allnight poker games, held floor hockey tournaments and threw legendary parties. A social club quickly evolved around the brothers, enforcing their understanding about the important combination of strong relationships and having fun.

At work, Dave’s personality shone — friendly, charitable, determined, fiercely competitive, naturally entrepreneurial and a visionary who looked into the future and dreamt of going global. One day, Dave and his brothers made the leap with a groundbreaking decision, and their first major, unreserved Dave Ritchie, Co- Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. industrial auction selling used construction equipment was conducted in Radium, BC in 1963. Shortly thereafter, they sold the Kelowna store and moved headquarters to Vancouver.

In the 1970s, Dave held an auction in Oregon and continued the US expansion. His brothers bowed out in the 1970s, and Dave surrounded himself with like- minded partners. By 1987, Ritchie Bros. held its first auctions in the UK and the Netherlands, then Australia, Mexico and the Middle East in the 1990s. Dave was now a consummate leader with a clear global vision that the Ritchie Bros. team faithfully executed.

Today, Ritchie Bros. has 44 global auction sites. In 2011, they sold US$ 3.7B of equipment at 339 unreserved auctions. To date, the company has conducted the world’s largest industrial auction in Orlando, selling 10,000+ equipment items and trucks for US$ 203M, and Canada’s largest industrial auction in Edmonton, selling 5,600+ equipment items and trucks for over CD$ 108M. Dee Miller, former Chair of the Canadian Construction Association, credits Dave for bringing legitimacy and consolidation to the global used industrial equipment auctioneering business.

Upon retiring in 2006, Dave bought Apoise, a 220- foot luxury yacht, to globe- trot. After four years’ travel, Dave sold the yacht in an unreserved auction: “I never worry about an unreserved auction. It works. I received fair market value. I know the new owner will enjoy Apoise as much as I have.” Today, Apoise holds their highestgrossing single- item record at US$ 46M.

Unabashedly driven by his promise of exceptional service and a belief in the unreserved auction process, Dave led Ritchie Bros. in an unwavering, whole- hearted journey to its peak industry position. His vision and personality perennially influence the company’s values and culture, and he still attends auctions and talks to his global customers. He also provides good advice to employees on auction days. Insight from an inadvertent business titan for the rest of us? “Never stop growing. Keep looking and wondering what is over that ridge or the next hill.”