John Menzies
 | |
Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | LSE: MNZS |
| Industry | Aviation |
| Founded | 1833 |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
Key people | Dermot F. Smurfit (Chairman) Giles Wilson (CFO) Forsyth Black (CEO) |
| Services | Ground handling Cargo Fuelling |
Number of employees | 36,000[citation needed] |
| Divisions | Menzies Aviation |
| Website | johnmenziesplc.com |
John Menzies plc (/ˈmɛnziːs/ MEN-zeez, traditionally /ˈmɪŋɪs/ MING-iss) is the holding company of Menzies Aviation, an aviation services business based in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing Ground Handling, Cargo Handling, Cargo Forwarding (AMI) and Fuelling.
Contents
1 History
2 Pronunciation
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
History
The company was founded by John Menzies (1808–1879) of Edinburgh, a Victorian entrepreneur, who built up his small newsagent business (established when he was 25 years old) into a national chain. Menzies died at his townhouse, 3 Grosvenor Crescent in Edinburgh's West End,[1] and was buried in Warriston Cemetery, on the north side of the city.[2]
The retail business expanded throughout Scotland, with High Street and station bookstalls opening in every part of the mainland. In 1941, its branch in Greenock was destroyed outright in the Greenock Blitz.[3] It would be over thirty years before it reopened a branch in the town. In 1973, John Menzies opened its flagship branch on Princes Street.
Like its Glasgow outlet on Buchanan Street, it operated over two floors and incorporated a music section.[4] In August 1988, the business purchased sixty six of the Martin Retail Group's largest stores in England, doubling John Menzies' floor space overnight.
These stores, which had previously traded as Martin the Newsagent, Lavells Newsagents, Lewis Meeson, RS McColl, Sperrings, and House of Andrew, were quickly rebranded as Menzies' stores.
In January 1998, it closed its principal branch in Edinburgh, although the head office continued to occupy the building.[5] The whole retail operation was sold to WHSmith High Street, and some to WHSmith Europe Travel Retail, in May 1998, to enable Menzies to concentrate on its distribution business.[6]
In January 2007, John Menzies merged its newspaper and magazine wholesale distribution businesses in Northern Ireland into a joint venture with Eason & Son, to be called EM News Distribution.[7] The company formerly ran High Street and railway station shops, particularly in Scotland, through a retail division which dealt in newspapers, magazines, books, stationery and other products. This was sold to rival WH Smith in March 1998.[6][8]
On 31 January 2017, Menzies Aviation completed the acquisition of specialist aircraft fueller Aircraft Services International, Inc (ASIG) from BBA Aviation plc for US$202m.[9] A planned merger between the Menzies Distribution and the DX Group collapsed in August 2017. In July 2018, John Menzies announced that it had sold the division to private equity company Endless LLP, with the former owner retaining a 10% share in the business.[10]
Pronunciation
The name Menzies is traditionally pronounced /ˈmɪŋɪs/ MING-iss, as the "z" is historically the letter ȝ (yogh). Even in Scotland (where the name "Menzies" originated), the name of the retail stores was increasingly pronounced as "John MEN-zeez". National television and radio advertising for the retail business used the latter pronunciation.
See also
- Books in the United Kingdom
References
^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1875-6
^ "Warriston Cemetery". Retrieved 2012-06-13..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "John Menzies plc - Our History". www.johnmenziesplc.com.
^ "Lost Edinburgh: John Menzies & Co". www.scotsman.com.
^ "John Menzies to close flagship store". 12 January 1998.
^ ab Menzies sells shops to WH Smith in GBP 64m deal Scotland on Sunday, 8 March 1998
^ "Eason and Menzies to form joint venture in Ireland". John Menzies Plc Online News. John Menzies Plc. 2007-01-03.
^ "John Menzies plc".
^ "John Menzies buys plane refuelling firm". 16 September 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-44966703
External links
- John Menzies plc company website
- Menzies Aviation
