Reynald Katz as a child in France. Photo by Seeta T. Shaw Roath

Reynald Katz’s father, Ugo, was born in Italy and moved to France where he married Ruth, a holocaust survivor and Reynald’s mother. Ugo has been in the perfume and cosmetic industry since Reynald’s early childhood. It was in his father’s cosmetics plant that Reynald learned the business of manufacturing cosmetics, including lipstick, nail polish, make-up, and perfume.

The young Katz attended the Jesuite College, Saint Joseph of Avignon, in France. There, Reynald earned the highest grades according to his father. “He made me proud, earning all ‘A’s. It was in school that Reynald showed his business acumen. He developed a hunger for clinching a deal, he always managed to sell something to someone in school,” he said.

During the Avignon Festival in France, Reynald had a booth where he displayed and sold his own hand-made artisan jewelry. “After a few years of selling his own handmade jewelry, Reynald had amassed US$100,000,” Ugo Katz stated.

“Craving a need to be involved more in the family business, he started to work with me from the time he was 18 years,” he said. “I made him the manager for my nail polish filling plant. By the time he was 19 years old, he and I had a difference of opinion and he decided to build his own business.” Today, Reynald says, he and his father are best friends.

At the age of 19, Katz started his own business in London
According to Reynald, after the fall-out with his father, he left his father’s business and flew to London to meet a nail polish chemist who had discovered a new anti-cracking nail polish formula. “In those years, nail polish used to crack the day after application,” Reynald Katz said. “This new formula was a revolutionary invention in the cosmetics industry. The English chemist and I became partners. I put all my money in the business and took care of the marketing aspect while the chemist managed the production aspects.”

Like a true entrepreneur, young Katz recognized and seized a golden opportunity. “I discovered that, at that time, the English government was giving grants to companies hiring employees from outer London, if they established plants 300 km outside the city. I applied for this grant and got the funds to build this new plant for research and development of cosmetics.

“I was 19 when I was awarded the US$1,000,000 grant in London and was able to get the manufacturing facility free of charge. In two years, I was able to conquer 80 percent of the worldwide nail polish market, and two years later my main vendor, Imperial Chemistry Industry, (ICI) bought the business for US$8,000,000. My partner and I received US$4,000,000 each. It was a great opportunity and I grasped it.”

While Reynald Katz was marketing his products, he was traveling the world. Traveling through South America and Central America he fell in love with Panama, yet left and went back to France. “At that time I was living life in the fast lane. Returning to Paris I bought everything my heart desired from a multimillion dollar house, to several sports cars.”

Even though the young Katz was thought to be a shrewd businessman, it never occurred to him that he was supposed to pay taxes in France. “The tax bill came after I had bought my cars and houses, and I had to sell most of it to pay my tax bills plus the inevitable fines.”

Katz said that his experience with the revenue department of France made him return to business. “I went to Italy to open a cosmetics business, this time it was the manufacturing of lipsticks. I developed a way to sell the cheapest lipstick on the market. I did the manufacturing of the product, the raw material, and the marketing, and still got the cheapest product on the market.

“I was the pioneer in the field of offering a cheap, attractive quality cosmetic product in Europe. At that time, China was not manufacturing cheap cosmetics so I filled the gap. My export markets also included the Middle Eastern countries.

Katz added the Middle East to his cosmetics market
“I soon discovered that the Middle East was a virgin cosmetics market, ready for conquering. It was relatively easy for me because I could learn their language easily. I was fluent in Italian, English, and French. I soon learnt Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese.”

Katz lived for six years in the Middle East developing this market. “I became the Cosmetic Head Buyer for one of the governments in the region,” he said. “I was in the Middle East during the Iraq-Iran war. I was at the hotel when the first bombings arrived and this became the reason I left the region.”

America’s perfume industry attracted Katz
Katz discovered that there was a boom in the perfume industry in the United States in 1986. “All the main brands were establishing themselves in the perfume business,” he noted. “Every day there was a new brand of perfume, so I went to check this emerging market. I soon discovered that there was a need of a budget, attractive, quality fragrance. So I created my own line of budget priced perfumes. I installed my plant in the City of Miami.”

By 1996, Katz had successfully established his products and sold his plant to a major American company.

Katz lived for six years in China
“While I lived in Miami, I was approached by the US on special request from the Chinese to develop the perfume area for the new concept of malls the Chinese government was expanding,” he explained. “I had just sold my plant, so I thought it could be a good opportunity to learn about business in China.”

“This was the time I was appointed as the senior advisor for the Ministry of Internal Trade Cosmetic Division, linking China with American cosmetics manufacturers.” After living in China for six years, Katz returned to Miami in 1998.

Katz developed Internet duty-free e-commerce
“I was amazed by the potential of the Internet business and the magnitude of the new market the Internet was creating. I developed the first Internet duty-free e-commerce business, and I was invited to the Cannes Duty Free Show as a speaker to present my new concept of selling duty-free goods over the Internet. This was a proud moment. I received a standing ovation in front of 3,000 people.

“However, it was a sad moment for me when I was about to go public, and the Internet ecommerce business crashed. The public offering had to be withdrawn and the project was cancelled,” said Katz.

After the Internet ecommerce business crashed, Katz moved to Panama
As part of global sourcing, Katz had discovered the geopolitical advantages of Panama. So not to be put down by the Internet crash, he moved to Panama.

“I decided to move to Panama. This has been my dream since 1974 when I was 19 years old. I purchased a distribution liquor company at the Colon Free Zone. It was then that I began to work in Latin American markets such as Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, etc.

“Here, I again realized there was a need for a budget-priced product, this time liquor brands, and so I started to produce my own brands in Panama. Today, I hold 16% of the entire Colombian market.”

It was when Katz decided to look for a showroom for his different brands of liquor at the Colon Free Zone, that he discovered there were 2,500 other companies waiting for the only two available. Katz seized the opportunity, researched the options, and laid the groundwork for the creation of the Panama International Merchandise Mart (PIMM) with its 6800 showrooms, a convention center, hotels, and more. The PIMM city was born.