I still have a road ahead of me

The story of Zsuzsa Székely, on family governance and the wisdom of making room for the next generation

My mornings no longer resemble those of thirty years ago at all. Back then I would set off before daybreak, the car loaded to the brim and two sleepy girls on the back seat. Today I drink my coffee in peace in our family office, up in the modern building I raised for the generations to come. The painted windows tint the light a warm shade, and from the top floor all I see is green.

Here, in the quiet of my office, I think about the road I have travelled so far and about the one still ahead of me. Because, if until now I needed skill to build a business, from here on I need even more of it to keep my family together.

I have two daughters. Two strong women, each in her own way: Ágnes and Zsuzsa. I look at them and I see the same strength I had all my life, but expressed differently: in one, through calm and clarity, in the other, through courage and impulsiveness. Both intelligent, both with a backbone, both fighters.

Ágnes runs Nobila Casa. That is where she has poured all her passion: into the world of beauty, of design, of shops with style, where a certain atmosphere can be felt. Her husband, Zoltán, runs Mendola Group, the conglomerate we raised step by step, year after year, out of second-hand clothes, long journeys, courage, and sleepless nights.

Zsuzsa, the other daughter, chose fashion. She is CEO at La Majole, a brand that has grown spectacularly. Two different paths, but both in retail.

And retail does not forgive: it demands hard work, nerves of steel, and a clear vision. The strength of our family is my daughters, because, however large our businesses may be, our identity is a single one: a Transylvanian family that does not forget where it started, that works, that builds, that supports progress.

I started with empty hands, after the Revolution. Long journeys to Germany, cars loaded with second-hand clothes, exhaustion, risks, the unknown. I remember one moment perfectly, as if lifted from a European film.

It was past midnight and we were driving to Germany to pick up goods. The girls were little, tired, but calm. I stopped at a cold petrol station, bought three poorly wrapped sandwiches, and we ate them in the car with frozen hands. They were laughing. I watched them in the rear-view mirror and asked myself: "If nothing comes of this business, what future am I offering my girls?"

The years passed and the business grew. Step by step. Until it reached a turnover of more than 50 million euros. But the numbers were not what gave me the energy to keep going. It was the team that helped me do it. My girls.

At over 70, I feel I still have the power to create. That is why I opened "Bunătăți din Călata," my cheese farm: a few cows, a small shop, a great joy. Some laughed: "What do you need that for?" I smiled. Because deep down I know that age is never an obstacle in the way of a new beginning.

One of the most moving moments of recent years was Zsuzsa's wedding. A long table, warmly lit, decorated with flowers and attention to detail; everything came from our Nobila Casa shops. In those moments I felt that I have a united family and that this is my legacy. A Nobila Famiglia, in the truest sense of the word.

But unity does not come on its own, just because we love one another. It is not a gift, it is work. And sometimes it is the hardest work of all.