Menzies Aviation
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Company type | Public |
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Founded | 1833 |
Headquarters | , |
Revenue | GB£1,450.4 million (2006) |
GB£34 million | |
GB£27.2 million | |
Number of employees | 14,800 (2005) |
Divisions | Menzies Aviation Menzies Distribution EM News Distribution (50%) |
Website | www.johnmenziesplc.com |
John Menzies plc (Gaelic Iain Menzies PLC) is a Scottish business established in 1833. It has two main divisions: Menzies Distribution and Menzies Aviation. Menzies Distribution is a major distributor of newspapers and magazines throughout the United Kingdom. Menzies Aviation is a provider of aviation services to many airlines.
The John Menzies name is still strongly associated with its now-defunct retail operation, particularly in Scotland.
Former retail business
Until the late-1990s, John Menzies also owned a chain of newsagent shops, many of which were based at railway stations. However, in Scotland, it also owned a significant number of larger stores, dominating the same market niche that W H Smith's High Street stores occupied in England and Wales.
In the late 1980s, John Menzies purchased 66 of the Martin Retail Group's largest stores in England, doubling their 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.
The retail operation was sold to W H Smith High Street (and some to WHSmith Europe Travel Retail) in 1998 to enable Menzies to concentrate on its distribution business.
Pronunciation
The name Menzies is traditionally Template:Pron-en MING-iss, as the "z" is historically the letter Template:Latinx (yogh). However, it should be noted that even in Scotland (where the name "Menzies" originated), the name of the retail stores was increasingly mispronounced as "John MEN-zeez".
John Menzies provide a humorous guide to the correct pronunciation.[1]
Joint venture between Eason and Menzies
As of February 2007 John Menzies is in the process of merging its newspaper and magazine wholesale distribution businesses in Northern Ireland into a joint venture with Eason & Son to be called EM News Distribution.[2]
References
- ^ John Menzies: Name pronunciation
- ^ "Eason and Menzies to form joint venture in Ireland". John Menzies Plc Online News. John Menzies Plc. 2007-01-03.
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