First
established in the last quarter of the
nineteenth century by four entrepreneurs
(Isidore and Montague Gluckstein, Barnett
Salmon and Joseph Lyons), J. Lyons &
Co. became one of the largest catering and
food manufacturing companies in the world.
From modest beginnings as supplier of
catering to the Newcastle Exhibition (UK),
in 1887, the new firm rapidly expanded to
become the first food empire which, at its
height, was the largest in Europe. In the
process Lyons became a household name and
the 'Joe Lyons' Corner Houses and
teashops, with their 'Nippy' waitresses,
caught the public imagination and passed
into history.
Always
innovative and with an acute awareness of
popular taste, Lyons brought a unique
blend of showmanship, style and spectacle
to its aim of combining high quality with
value for money. This was achieved by
maintaining control of all its
manufacturing and servicing departments.
Its food laboratory was world-leading
attracting many graduates from Oxford and
Cambridge. Margaret Thatcher (née
Roberts) worked as a scientist in the
laboratory before she became a member of
the British Parliament and eventually
Britain's first woman Prime
Minister.
The first
Lyons teashop opened in 1894 at 213
Piccadilly. It was the forerunner of some
250 white and gold fronted teashops which
occupied prominent positions in many of
London's high streets and suburban towns
and cities; corner sites with two
entrances were preferred. At one time
seven teashops operated in London's Oxford
Street alone. Food and beverage charges
were identical in each teashop,
irrespective of locality, and the highest
standards of hygiene were demanded by
management. A customers complaint was a
serious matter investigated at the highest
level. Such attention to detail was one of
the secrets of their success, for the name
of Lyons had come to convey to the public
a standard of good quality at a reasonable
price. Their tea too was said to be the
best available and the blend used was
never sold or made available to the
public.
Outside of
catering other activities developed. Lyons
undertook the Buckingham Palace Garden
Parties, the catering events at Windsor
Castle, London's Guildhall where the Lord
Mayor's banquets were held, the Chelsea
Flower shows, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis
Championships and many more. Lyons built
the famous Trocadero Restaurant near
Piccadilly Circus and then built the
Corner Houses, huge restaurants on four or
five floors where orchestras played
continuously. At one time in the 1930s
Lyons were engaging so many musicians that
an Orchestral Department had to be formed
to manage these.
Soon the
company was operating hotels (which they
built themselves), laundries, tea estates
in Nyasaland (now Malawi), meat pie
companies, ice-cream companies, tea and
coffee companies, engineering works, jam
and soft drink factories, confectionery
manufacturing and were the first to
introduce frozen food to the British
public. During the war they managed one of
the largest bomb-making facilities in the
UK and their engineering works made a
range of war materiel. They packed
millions of rations for troops fighting in
Asia and other parts of the world and
bequeathed one of their teashops to the
American personnel stationed at Grosvenor
Square. Another formed part of the famous
Rainbow Corner in Shaftsbury Avenue, near
Piccadilly Circus.
After the
war the company embarked on a rebuilding
programme expanding their operations into
Europe and America as well as large
projects at home. They acquired the
Baskin-Robbins Ice-Cream company and the
Dunkin Donuts organisation. They developed
the Wimpy hamburger chain which
essentially was an American idea. They
also built and operated the world's first
business computer which they called LEO
(Lyons Electronic Office). Large new
bakeries and meat pie factories were built
with the aid of regional grants. Several
smaller ice-cream companies were acquired
to increase market share against the
fierce competition from Walls. After the
war many city centres were redeveloped and
Lyons took advantage of building new
hotels culminating in the magnificent
Tower Hotel at London's St Katherine's
Dock alongside the Tower of London.
The
company's decline came as fast as its
growth. It had overstretched on its
borrowings when the UK was hit by
recession and an oil crisis. The high
level of borrowing, mainly from American
investors, to pay for the aggressive
expansion programme severely impacted on
the profit and loss account, because of
the punitive level of world-wide interests
rates which prevailed throughout 1974. In
1978 Allied Breweries Ltd made an offer
for the company which was accepted and
Lyons lost its independence. It survived
for a few years under new management but
eventually it's component parts were
gradually sold to pay for acquisitions
associated with the drinks trade notably;
Hiram Walker of Canada and Pedro Domecq of
Spain. The Lyons company had survived for
over 100-years. During this whole period
it did not feel it wanted to change its
name and from 1887 until 1998 it proudly
traded as J. Lyons & Company.
© Peter
Bird 2002 |
....1998.
