Attention to retail
As chairman and managing director of Scottish & Newcastle Retail, Bob Ivell's career is on a roll, yet he is determined to remain close to the opinions of both the punters and the pint pullers as he tours the S&Nestate.
If I have to be at head office in Edinburgh, it means getting up at 4.30am to catch the 6.50am flight from Birmingham. The 11 September attacks haven't put me off flying. One has to be fatalistic about these things.
Otherwise, if I'm going to S&N Retail's base in Northampton, I'll get up at 6.15am, as it's just a 35-minute drive from where I live in Cambridgeshire. But I always either go to the gym or take a three-mile run each morning. As I'm in the business of eating and drinking, it's important to stay in shape. Breakfast is either coffee or juice "on the hoof".
My day is varied and can start with a breakfast meeting at 7.30am and, through the day, might include big strategic meetings or talking with area managers. Just as often, I'll be out visiting our many properties to see how things are going and to chat to staff and customers. We bought Greenalls last year and have done a lot of reorganisation of the portfolio, such as selling off 900 of the smaller pubs.
Despite everything that's going on, we're quite pleased with business in the past six months. And although our central London pubs have been a lot quieter in the evenings since the attacks in the USA, our properties in other places have been busier.
Lunch is normally just a sandwich and can be at any time from noon to 3pm, whenever there's a gap. There's always so much to do and so many people to meet. That's the great thing about my job. I love it. It's so exciting and challenging. And I love people. It's also so full of variety. I might be doing a chip tasting at 2pm, visiting one of our pubs at 4pm and in a board meeting at 5pm. Yes, I do have to remember a lot of diverse bits of information, but luckily one of my strengths is my memory.
One feature of S&N Retail that I've introduced is the process whereby those from head office spend four days a year working out on the shop floor in the pubs, lodges and restaurants. Some are not keen to do it, but others have said that it really helps them understand the other person's point of view. For instance, one of our finance clerks admitted how she now understood what a bad idea it is to call a pub manager at 1pm on a Friday afternoon.
Beer in the bathtub
I'm going to be working at the Baja Beach Club, one of our properties in Newcastle upon Tyne. It's a famous nightclub and venue bar, where girls in bikinis sell bottles of beer out of a bathtub. It notches up £140,000 turnover each week.
I'll work behind the bar and chat to the staff and customers. I'll find out what problems need to be sorted, what everyone thinks of the place and how things might be improved.
Most days, I can be in the office until 8pm or even 9pm working through paperwork and dealing with e-mails. At some point, I'll take about half-an-hour with my PA to rejig my diary and then deal with important post.
Frequently, there are dinners and functions to attend in the evenings, and I won't get home until midnight or 1.30am. For instance, once a month I host a recognition dinner for about two dozen employees from across the organisation who have performed particularly well. In any case, I don't see that much of my wife and two daughters during the week. In fact, my wife has never cooked a meal for me on a weekday. She has never had to.
interview by David Tarpey
Just a minute…
What message do you have for Tony Blair? Start to listen to this industry. You ignore it at your peril. Remember the effects that foot-and-mouth had on jobs and revenue within tourism. And finally, cut down our bureaucracy. It's the worst that it has ever been.
Who would be your ideal dinner partner? Catherine Zeta-Jones
What is your favourite restaurant? I love so many, but for a really special occasion, Le Caprice.
Which foods do you really dislike? Rice pudding, and custard.
Scottish & Newcastle Retail
Lakeside House, The Lakes,
Northampton NN4 7SN
Tel 01604 239000
Web site:www.scottish-newcastle.com
Annual turnover (to May): £1.25b
Staff: 30,000, of which 2,000 are chefs
Average sales: £13,000 across the group's 9,000 pubs. This compares with an industry average of £8,000 and indicates S&N's success at operating in prime locations with a high volume of business
Key brands: Chef & Brewer, Millers, Premier Lodge, John Barras & Co, T&J Bernard, Bar 38, Henry's Bar & Café, Original Pub Co, Bar & Pizzeria, Bar & Kitchen
