1987 - 1996
1987
The Hammick's group of wholesale and retail booksellers was acquired and Early Learning Centre continued its expansion by opening shops in Holland.
Terry Blood Distribution was voted best wholesaler in the record distribution industry.
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1988
John Menzies Retail makes a major expansion into England by acquiring 66 shops from Martin Retail Group, doubling its selling space in England and creating a balanced national chain.
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1989
Terry Blood Distribution (TBD) acquired one of its main competitors - Wynd-Up Records - becoming the acknowledged leader in its market. In the same year TBD won the British Video Association award.
John Menzies moves into the Transport Services Sector by acquiring the Scan International Group, offering a wholesale international overnight courier service to retail courier companies and freight forwarders. Cargosave, acquired in May of the following year, complemented Scan by handling heavier freight.
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1991
The Early Learning Centre opens stores in the Republic of Ireland and begins the rationalisation of its operations in the USA.
John Menzies Wholesale was presented with the prestigious ANA Award for wholesale technology. With product ranges from The Beano to The Economist from The Stornoway Gazette to the Times, John Menzies Wholesale distributed something to suit every taste, though even with high technology traditional cycle power still played its part in home delivery. With over 26.5 million newspapers being delivered daily John Menzies Wholesale had one of the largest paper rounds in the country.
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1993
Air Menzies International (AMI) is formed with the merger of Scan, Cargosave, and the newly acquired Air Marketing Services Group making AMI the leading independent wholesale express air courier and air-freight consolidator.
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1995
MARCH
The Group acquires a 37% stake in Funsoft- German based independent distributor and republisher of games software.
SEPTEMBER
The Group acquires Concorde Express - the leading independent cargo transport operator, and a provider of cargo handling and contract labour services, at London's Heathrow Airport.
OCTOBER
John Menzies Wholesale moves to a new, award winning headquarters building at Edinburgh Park.
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1996
MAY
Samas Universal Office Supplies BV, formed out of a merger of the office supplies businesses of the John Menzies Group and the Samas-Groep of the Netherlands, commences trading.
JULY
The Group's Chairman, John Menzies - great grandson of the Group's founder, announce's that he is to retire following the 1997 Annual General Meeting.
AUGUST
THE acquires the book wholesaler Heathcote's from WH Smith in a deal which has made them one of the UK's leading book wholesalers.
