Robert Murray

The Grocer's Boy Gets Down to Business

The End Slice of His Career from the Easy-Going Seventies to the Ultra-Competitive Nineties

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

What happens when a grocer's boy moves from the saddle of his delivery bike to an executive's chair? As the 1970s dawned, Robert Murray was on the way up - newly appointed to a senior role in one of Scotland's most respected grocery distribution businesses. However, fate would have more than a few surprises in store for the man who had worked his way up from humble beginnings in grocery delivery on rural Tayside to the top level of corporate decision-making. But it wasn't all about the company boardroom; Robert's life was full of incidents and surprises during these unpredictable decades of his career, which saw his young family grow and new friendships forged. Time and again, he discovered that the importance of professional camaraderie was just as vital as meeting the needs of the increasingly-demanding consumer. From the social and economic turbulence of the 1980s to the ruthless commercial competitiveness of the 1990s, Robert witnessed sweeping changes in the grocery world - a distributive trades revolution which was to transform the way companies did business in the UK and far beyond. Join him as he pedals on through thirty years in the grocery trade before parking up his old pushbike for the final time.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Extremis Publishing Ltd.
• Seitenzahl: 318
• Erscheinungstermin: 31. Mai 2022
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 198mm x 129mm x 17mm
• Gewicht: 340g
• ISBN-13: 9781739854324
• ISBN-10: 1739854322
• Artikelnr.: 63697508

Autorenporträt

Robert Taylor Murray was born in Barry, near Carnoustie, in 1940. Growing up in Westhaven and later residing in Carnoustie itself, he attended Barry and Carnoustie Schools before becoming an apprentice grocer with William Low & Company Ltd. He qualified as a Member of The Grocers' Institute, and was appointed manager of William Low's Brantwood branch in Dundee, becoming the company's youngest ever manager at the age of 19. He later oversaw the Logie Street branch in Lochee. Robert went on to manage a larger third branch in Dundee and then, after attending further education management courses, discovered he was sufficiently qualified to successfully apply for a post as a lecturer in distributive trades subjects at Dundee Commercial College - a position he held for five years. Realising how much the retail trade was changing and feeling he was less in touch to reflect the current scene, he applied to join The Grocers' Institute and was appointed Training Development Officer for part of London and east England, where he advised companies and colleges on training in the retail grocery trade. After two years he returned to the Dundee area when he was appointed Training Officer for Watson & Philip, a national wholesale food distributor. He remained with that company for thirty-three years, during which time he was appointed Personnel Manager and eventually became Group Personnel Manager with responsibility for three thousand employees and, latterly, in the London area. Following a company acquisition he became redundant at the age of sixty-two. In retirement he has again been actively involved in amateur theatre. He is a member of Tay Writers - a Dundee based writing group - and Angus Writers' Circle, and writes short stories. He has written a stage presentation on the life of Robert Burns, "The Spirit of Robbie Burns", which has been performed several times by amateurs in Tayside and beyond. He has two daughters, each married, and four grandchildren. When he is not writing, he enjoys travelling, hill walking and golfing. For more information about Robbie and his work, please visit his website at: www.robertmurrayauthor.co.uk.