Our Retail Sales Manager, Mark Reynard, has just celebrated 40 years with the company, so we asked him some questions about his time at Johnsons, see what he had to say below:
1. What was the year you started at Johnsons? 23rd June 1980
2. How did you come about working at Johnsons?
I came for an interview on a sunny day in June, and it looked a nice place to work – a few months later in the winter digging trees up with rain running down your neck was a slightly different experience.
3. Did you work anywhere else prior to Johnsons? I only did a paper round; I started work at Johnsons just a few days after my 16th birthday!
4. What was your first position in the company?
My first position was an apprenticeship for three years with work-based learning mixed in with college work.
5. How has the company changed over the years?
Wow – beyond belief really, from 20-30 staff to the 110-160 staff there are now, it is an incredible change, and a tribute to all the hard work people have put in over the years. The nice thing we have maintained is the friendly Family Business feeling as the company has grown. People are treated as individuals and not just numbers on a payroll – those of us that haven’t worked anywhere else probably don’t’ appreciate this enough.
6. What is your most memorable day at Johnsons?
For different reasons:
7. If you could have chosen another career what would it have been?
Anything to do with sport really – playing it or coaching.
8. What has made you stay at Johnsons for all those years?
Although 40 years sounds like a very long time the first 10 years were very different, from growing plants to loading and delivering plants and then on to sales where no two days are ever the same.
Running the Garden Centre Sales side of Johnsons is a bit like running a separate business within the main business, I set different goals each year to keep driving me forward, we have made some good progress recently but still feel there are a few things to achieve before I hang up my order pad.
During my time at Johnsons I’ve had some up’s and down’s which the Richardson family have always supported me through and I feel it’s nice to repay that in a small way.
Group MD Graham Richardson added: “Mark has been a valued member of the team since June 1980, I can’t believe how fast the years have gone by.
“Mark joined Johnsons as a 16-year-old apprentice and over the years, with hard work and dedication, has progressed throughout the business. He is a valued member of the team and is a key part of our business and history.”
To mark his four-decade milestone, as is customary the company will formally recognise this extraordinary achievement at the Christmas shutdown.
Posted 28th Aug 9:12am
