Richard A. Smith (businessman)

Smith was born in 1924[1] the son of Philip Smith. His father founded Midwest Drive-In Theaters which in 1941, operated 9 of 15 drive-in movie theaters in the U.S.[2] In 1946, he joined his father's company.[2] In 1947, the company was one of the first to open a theater in a shopping mall in Framingham, Massachusetts.[2] By the 1950s, the Midwest Drive-In Theatres operated 53 drive-ins[3] and branched out into other lines of business including the Richard's Drive-Ins restaurant chain, Amy Joe's Pancake Houses, and several bowling alleys in order to diversify their revenues which were under pressure as more people stayed home to watch television.[3] In 1960, the company changed its name to General Drive-In Corp and went public on the New York Stock Exchange[2] although Smith retained a controlling interest.[4] His father died in 1961 and Richard succeeded him as CEO.[4][2] Smith changed the company's name to General Cinema in 1964 to better reflect the shift in the industry away from drive-in theaters.[2]

Smith diversified and expanded the company through acquisitions.[4] In the late 1960s, General Cinema began purchasing bottling franchises eventually becoming the largest independent bottler in the United States.[4] In 1970, they purchased the Mann Theatres chain (founded by Ted Mann) for $6.6 million.[4] In 1972, they purchased an interest in 47 indoor theaters in Louisiana and Florida from the Loews Corporation (founded by Laurence Tisch and Robert Tisch) for $16 million.[4] Smith's diversification efforts paid off: in 1985, the bottling operations were 70% of operating profits and General Cinema marked its 12th straight year of operating profits (since Smith was appointed CEO, General Cinema had been profitable for 24 of 25 years).[4] Smith also participated in greenmailing: he purchased a substantial interest in Heublein Inc. forcing it to find a friendly suitor earning Smith a substantial profit when he sold his shares.[4]

In 1984, General Cinema purchased a controlling interest in Carter Hawley Hale, the tenth largest clothing retailer in the United States and owner of the Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman-Marcus, John Wanamaker's, Thalhimers, and Holt Renfrew chains,[4] saving it from a hostile takeover from Leslie Wexner.[1] In 1989, General Cinema sold its bottling division for $1.75 billion.[4] In 1991, General Cinema purchased Harcourt Brace Jovanovich for $1.5 billion.[4] In 1993, the company split into two companies: Harcourt General consisted of the publishing business and the controlling interest in the retail group (then called the Neiman-Marcus Group); and GC Companies, Inc. consisted of the movie theater division in which the Smith family retained a 28 percent controlling interest.[4] In 1994, Smith re-evaluated the portfolio of theaters and sold 14 theaters for $14 million and closed an additional 37 theaters in 1994 and 12 in 1995.[4] They also cautiously expanded into megaplexes with sit-down cafes, seat-side service, "loveseats," gourmet food and coffee, and liquor; and associated with top brands such as Starbucks, Pepsi, Taco Bell, and Pizzeria Uno.[4]

In 2000, General Cinema sold Harcourt General to publisher Reed-Elsevier for $5.7 billion and in 2005, they sold Neiman Marcus to private equity firms TPG and Warburg Pincus for $5.1 billion (the Smith family earned $600 million from their interest).[5]

He and his wife founded the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation.[6] Since 1973, the foundation has donated $45.6 million to Boston's Jewish community of which $24 million was given to Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston (CJP).[7]

In 1952, Smith married Susan Flax who was Jewish.[6][8] They had four children: James Smith (who died in 1970), Amy Smith Berylson, Robert Smith, and Debra Smith Knez.[6] His daughter is married to Brian Knez.[9][10] His son, Robert Smith and son-in-law Brian Knez, served as co-CEOs of Harcourt General until its sale then co-founded private equity shop Castanea Partners in 2001.[5] His nephew is Jeffrey Lurie; in 1994, he and his sister provided collateral for a $185 million loan enabling Jeff to purchase the Philadelphia Eagles.[5]

Smith died on September 9, 2020, aged 95.[11]