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bdaily looks at the expertise of Dicksons, the UK’s Family Business of the Year with MD Michael Dickson

According to a recent article in the Telegraph, almost 21 percent of UK workers are employed by family businesses and family ownership is increasingly providing an alternative recipe for sustained corporate success as access to cheap finance dries up.

Michael Dickson, managing director at MI Dickson Ltd, the company behind the north east’s much loved Dicksons brand, which was last year named The Coutts UK Family Business of the Year, has worked at the helm of his family’s business for the past 40 years. He shares with Bdaily the highs and lows of running a successful family business.

How did the business begin?

The business began in 1953 when my father and German born mother invested their life savings in a pork butchers shop in South Shields, selling their own made sausages, bacon, pies and pastries- many of which we still sell today although our product range has evolved with changing consumer demands.

How did you get involved in the family business?

I had no interest in joining the business and had my sights set on going to university. However, in 1966 when I was a young teenager my father died suddenly which left my mum and sister Christine, 16 at the time, to continue to run the business.

I helped out every Saturday, school holidays and out of school hours setting the ovens, checking the fridges but then never did get to university as my mum took ill and was unable to work so I joined the business full time at the age of 18.

Was it difficult to establish yourself within the business?

It was sink or swim: You could stand or fall by your own decisions which weren’t always the best, but nonetheless provided a great learning curve! Unlike many family businesses I didn’t have the previous generation on hand to share their wisdom or indeed to interfere with decisions. Some of the suppliers that my father had worked with for years took us under their wings, whereas others tried to exploit what they saw to be our naivity.

The business broke even for a number of years but Christine and I had given up everything to make the business work and had real ambitions to grow a strong family retail business. By 1981 I became managing director and we invested in our first factory in order to supply the 5 shops we then had.

By 1992 we had 12 shops and, borrowing heavily, we built a new factory at Middlefields Industrial Estate, our present production centre. We have grown organically and through acquisitions and now have a 21 strong retail chain across the region.

We also recognised the growth potential within wholesale and instead of fearing the supermarkets and the impact they would have on our retail business we began to forge relationships with them. Today have strong relationships with the major multiples where we have secured listings through their local buying initiatives.

So the business in many ways is quite unrecognisable to the business we inherited in our teens but we do continue to stay true to our brand heritage and our values- not only in the quality of the product that we produce but the way in which we value our staff members and our customers.

Family businesses are often criticized for their lack of succession planning- what plans do you have in place?

We now have a third generation Dickson involved in the day to day business- my daughter Elena, a food scientist, joined the business as product development and marketing manager a few years ago and plays an integral role in the on-going success of the business.

However, if we are to realise our ambitious plans the business needs the expertise of individuals from outside of the family which is why we made our first non-family board appointment in 2009 and appointed Kevin Lee as our chief operating officer

To ensure that we maintain family control over the business in the longer term , we operate a Family Council , made up of Christine, myself, our sister Dorothy and my 4 children …all “bloodline Dicksons” .

The Council follows a written Constitution and when Christine and I withdraw from day to day operations, the Family Council’s role will be to appoint and instruct the executive board on the strategic vision for the business.

What makes a family business different to any other business?

Whilst I recognise that lots of non-family business respect their staff and their customers and contribute to their local community I strongly believe that family values are reflected across our entire company, particularly in our approach to staff engagement which ultimately impacts on the way our employees approach their work and so the quality of our products and service.

Ours is a family brand with tangible presence in the communities we serve and this leads to loyal customers, many of whom are third generation too.

We have set up the Dickson Family Charitable Trust which sees some of the profit we make go back in to the local community. It is run by a Staff Council made up of volunteers and we work with the Community Foundation to manage the funds.

When is the best time to join a family business?

You have two choices: start in your family’s business immediately or get outside experience before joining the firm. Do you prove yourself at the family business, or do you prove yourself elsewhere and then come back to the family business, bringing specific skills and different ideas and talents back into the firm?

For me the choice was taken away, but for Elena who is third generation Dickson, she gained valuable experience at United Biscuits before joining the team.

Either way, joining a family business is by no means an easy option and requires huge drive and commitment if you are to firmly establish your position and be recognised as a valuable contributor by your other team members.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Elena Dickson .