Family Values - Commerce thrust upon them

Dec 11 2006 By Iain Laing, The Journal

The brother and sister team behind the region's biggest family butcher's business were still at school when they started running the operation, as Iain Laing discovers.

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Michael and Christine Dickson knew that one day they would inherit the family pork butchery company, but didn't expect to be running it in their teens.

But more than 30 years on, they have transformed MI Dickson from a two-shop company in South Shields into the region's biggest family butcher. It now has a turnover of more than £8m, 20 shops in Tyne and Wear and about 250 staff.

Michael said: "Others manufacture, retail or wholesale products but we do everything."

And it is their focus on tasty, ready to eat food that has attracted a hugely loyal clientele, which they say includes celebrities such as Bryan Ferry, the Washington-born frontman of Roxy Music.

The business was launched in 1953 when Irwin and Helen Dickson took over premises in Prince Edward Road, South Shields.

Hard work brought steady growth and within six years the couple were able to take over town centre premises in Fowler Street, where they made everything upstairs - from sausages to pies, hams, roast pork, black pudding, pease pudding and saveloys - and increased the staff to 40.

And when Irwin died in 1966, aged 53, Helen continued to run the company with the help of 16-year-old Christine, who looked after the financial side of the business, with 14-year-old Michael helping out on Saturdays and during school holidays until he completed his A-levels.

Christine said: "I had planned to come into the business, but when Dad died I had to suddenly take on more responsibility than I had anticipated."

It all meant that neither sibling had much of the normal life of a teenager.

Michael said: "Every Sunday, I had to light the ovens ready for Monday, check that all the fridges were running properly, and this over and above normal pastimes and homework! It was far from the life I expected - it was strange, and it got worse when Mum became ill."

In 1970, they had just two shops and it soon became obvious that they had to introduce tighter controls and systems, restructure the business and formulate recipes for more consistent products, which also meant that costs were fixed.

"From 1970 to 1974, life was rough and we were just breaking even," says Michael.

"Without cash there can be no investment, so you can't move forward, which is hugely frustrating. But in 1974 the controls we had introduced began to bear fruit and we made a small profit for the first time - it was like winning the pools. We invested the money in a shop round the corner." And the shop chain and the manufacturing operation have grown both by acquisition and organically ever since.

With Christine having no children to succeed her, the weight of the company's longer term future could be in the hands of Michael's youngest daughter Elena who, with a degree in food science, is the company's technical manager and the only one of his four children to join the company.

But Elena realises that running a family business is not all highs. She says: "You are master of your own destiny to a degree, but you can't treat it as your personal kingdom because you have to use accepted business practice. But if you have a vision, you are not restricted by your employer or shareholders and are free to take a risk - if not maybe as many holidays as you'd like.

"The downside is that you don't get to see much of your family and never switch off. It is always with you, much like a farmer, especially as it is a 24-hour operation, which means there is a huge opportunity for things to go wrong."