Talk:J. Lyons and Co.

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Anybody know why they stopped trading? Why is there no longer a national chain of tea rooms? Edward 17:22, 28 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Could someone merge Lyons (company). I may if I get time Justinc 15:09, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Lyons_and_Co. => http://www.kzwp.com/kzwp/kzwp/lyons/index.htm for history of J. Lyons by Peter Bird and this URL was broken but I think I've fixed it. b.t.w. this answered my question "How was "Lyons" chosen by Salmon family ?" - First established in the last quarter of the nineteenth century by four entrepreneurs (Isidore and Montague Gluckstein, Barnett Salmon and Joseph Lyons), J. Lyons & Co. became one of the largest catering and food manufacturing companies in the world. 14 Oct 2006 16:10 BST

I think this is a really poor page.

(1) as far as I know, J Lyons was never referred to as Joseph Lyons - where did that come from. It was always J. Lyons (or occasionally in slang Jo (or Joe?) Lyons).

(2) Surely the facts that it had a large central checking department, or that it had hundreds of clerks and even less that it had Burroughs adding machines are not the most important things to mention about the company at the start of the article.

(3) I didn't even think that the company was founded by Joseph Gluckstein, but rather by Salmon & Gluckstein. I think Joseph Gluckstein is an entirely incorrect name, perhaps deriving from Samual Gluckstein marrying Hannah Joseph.

(4) The introductory paragraph should surely mention the Lyons Electronic Office which pioneered the use of computers in business.

Perhaps the first para could say something like

J. Lyons & Co. was a large British catering, food manufacturing and distribution business. It was founded in 1887 as a spin-off from the Salmon & Gluckstein tobacco business. Joseph Nathaniel Lyons (b. 1847) was appointed to run the company which was named after him. J. Lyons & Co. was _the_ pioneer in the introduction of computers to business, and the company manufactured and sold a range of LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) computers in the period 1947 to 1963.

I have struck through this because most of it has been somewhat fixed.

Omissions and inaccuracies
The article mentions the corner houses in London but what about the Lyons Corner Houses in Birmingham (Corporation Street) and Manchester (Portland Street), both of which I visited with my aunts during my early teens?

Also we were served by uniformed 'Nippy' waitresses at the table as late as 1961 in the upstairs saloon (although the downstairs was already a self serve cafeteria), although the article makes it appear that the serving staff ceased to exist immediately after the war. Patently not correct. 21st CENTURY  GREENSTUFF 01:36, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Why is this article called "J. Lyons and Co."?
The name of the company was "J. Lyons & Co.", as the picture in the lead clearly shows. The lead even calls the company J. Lyons & Co. Malleus Fatuorum 18:04, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

Swiss rolls and currency risk
I have seen the collapse of J. Lyons cited in a discussion of "currency risk". The claim was that they were selling a lot of swiss rolls in their cafes, so they decided to buy the Swiss company that made them. They paid for it with borrowed Swiss Francs, expecting to service and repay the loan from their increased Sterling revenues. Then the UK inflation rate rose, so their earnings were insufficient to service the loan. The point was that this would not happen now, a sensibly-run company would hedge its currency risk; but such arrangements were not common in the '60s.

I would add a section about this, if I could find a reference for it. Maproom (talk) 07:47, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Add a History of Computing facet, please
The Lyons LEO aspect should also be developed, as it was as important in the development of computing in the UK as IBM was in America. Midland Bank (now HSBC), for example, started its computer operations on a LEO in the 1950s. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.0.193.159 (talk) 11:39, 20 August 2016 (UTC)

Decorative packaging dept.
Does anyone remember Emily Pates who worked in the packaging & boxing dept.? I ask because she was not only my mothers sister ( my aunt) but also one of the longest serving employees of J. Lyons serving them (I believe) from around the age of twelve/thirteen to late seventies early eighties. 92.22.92.215 (talk) 16:06, 5 November 2022 (UTC)