Almost 40 years ago FPJ’s publisher, Lockwood Press, upped sticks and moved from Gough Square in the heart of Fleet Street into pristine offices at Market Towers, where it became the building’s first tenants on the fourth floor.
Coinciding with Covent Garden Market’s move to its new location at Nine Elms, the decision made a lot of sense for all kinds of reasons: in PR terms it strengthened the Fruit Trades Journal’s reputation for being at the heart of the fresh produce trade; there was also a more practical reason, as the old offices in a building close to the home of Dr Johnson (he of dictionary fame) and behind the famous Old Cheshire Cheese pub, were impractical and spread over several floors. Now, editorial, advertising and admin were on one floor, and there was even space to invite market visitors and the executives of some of the major companies that had now become our new neighbours in Market Towers to drop by.
They included the Citrus Marketing Board of Israel, which launched green Sweetie grapefruit as one of its first initiatives in its new offices. Max Levin, who had earlier been the board’s general manager and subsequently set up as an independent importer, was credited with reintroducing the Sunkist citrus brand to the UK.
But if the apple market was vibrant, it was also changing, with Australia beginning to feel the pressure from New Zealand, Cape Fruit and French Le Crunch. Spanish distribution companies also became more dominant in response to multiple programmes, reflected in the presence of Etasa, which soon was one of the country’s largest tomato groups
Egypt became a force alongside Cyprus in the winter and spring new potato trades, with Aratra managed by Egyptian importer Dr Fawzi Ismael from an office in Market Towers. For a three-year period it virtually cornered this trade when total European spring shortages led to tubers arriving from New Zealand to try to fill the gap.
The new premises also gave birth to Eurofruit - our European sister publication whose publisher Market Intelligence Limited bought FPJ almost three years ago - at a time when telexes, typewriters and hot metal printing was giving way to computers. The Journal was one of the first, if not the first, trade papers to get into desktop publishing, fittingly enough on Apple Macs.
There was certainly plenty to report at a time when the trade was changing. Fruits and vegetables suddenly became fashionable on the London Stock Exchange through the meteoric rise of the publicly-quoted Albert Fisher group, which saw the takeover of many well-known and long-established provincial wholesalers. Other companies also achieved highly successful listings, such as Glass Glover and the Hillsdown Group.
And more generally it was a time when the fresh produce business, long misunderstood by the national press as too complex or even too mysterious, started to achieve the recognition it had long deserved. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Information Bureau, funded on a voluntary basis, came into existence under the chairmanship of Matthew Mack. The decision to appoint the Cameron Choat agency actually took place in the Journal’s offices, with FPJ also playing an advisory role. Soon regular releases were pouring out, and a great deal done to correct a negative image of British growers.
Market Towers was also the focus for trade politics, as the various associations eventually came together. The Retail Fruit Trade Federation had moved to Nine Elms from offices in Russell Street, but was losing members every year as the supermarkets became ever more dominant. The fiercely independent Fruit Importers’ Association, located nearby in the market itself, was also under pressure, while the Produce Packaging and Marketing Association was already holding discussions with the National Federation of Fruit and Potato Trades. It was perhaps inevitable that the FPJ offices were the location for the first talks that resulted in the eventual formation of the Fresh Produce Consortium. -
CHRIS WHITE: FPJ's rolling stone: New Office is the perfect mix between the modern and traditional
We were among the first to move in when Market Towers went up, and we are now the last to move out as Market Towers comes down.
Over the next few months the office building at No 1 Nine Elms Lane that was home to any number of fresh fruit and vegetable traders will disappear. Planning approval is due for a new glass building that forms part of a huge regeneration scheme underway in this part of London.
FPJ is only moving a short way up the Wandsworth Road to new offices that are much better suited to a modern media company like ours. We’ve spent the last few months helping to convert part of a 1930s building that used to be one of south London’s biggest cinemas into a suitable office space. Word has it that The Rolling Stones even used it for band practice back in the old days.
Importantly, FPJ’s new office remains a stone’s throw away from New Covent Garden Market. Our connections with Covent Garden go back many years and we’re glad to be at hand to witness the exciting redevelopment planned for “The Garden” over the next few years.
It goes without saying that the trade has changed beyond recognition since we came to Market Towers in the early 1970s. So it’s appropriate too that our new office overlooks Sainsbury’s Nine Elms. One of the chain’s largest outlets in central London, it is used by local residents and London celebrities alike, and it’s been dishing up lunchtime sandwiches and salads for FPJ staff for donkey’s years. It’s very handy for research purposes having a big supermarket next door too.
You’ll want to know that our new office space also has some history in produce. One floor used to be occupied by Wentworth, a company that imported citrus among other lines and back in the 1990s caught the eye of Asil Nadir to become part of the Polly Peck empire (remember them?)
Perhaps more appropriately for today, we are going to be working above one of south London’s largest gyms. The Southbank Club has occupied the old cinema space since the big screen went dark in the 1960s (the Granada Wandsworth closed its doors on a double bill of “Carry On Nurse” starring Sid James and Barbara Windsor, and a Hammer movie with Christopher Lee called “Devil Ship Pirates”).
It means that from our new home we’ll be able to keep a close eye on what’s going on in the fresh produce business and keep fit at the same time. You don’t need to be told that nowadays it’s all about eating well and keeping fit so, to borrow a phrase that’s been doing the rounds over the last few weeks, we hope it’s also going to inspire a generation of young journalists and sales people to make a career in the fruit and veg sector.
We’ve moved - our phone numbers and emails addresses stay the same - so do please pop by to say hello. But please note that popcorn is not available on the door. Fruit and vegetables perhaps!
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