Ringtons has been subtly brewing up some exciting changes of late – and it’s a very serious business.
The traditional tea and treats firm marks 118 years of trading next month, and while much has changed at the business over the years, its beloved biscuits, teas, coffees and friendly doorstep delivery service have remained a constant, as has the Smith family holding the reins. Now, 63 years after Ringtons retired Monty, its last Shire horse, to switch to motorised delivery vans, the family firm is seeking further growth in an age of decarbonisation, digital transactions and e-commerce, under the direction of the relatively new, fifth generation of family members who are steering the Byker business into the 21st century and beyond.
Eight years ago the firm’s directors – fourth generation board members Nigel, Colin and Simon Smith – told us how they had launched their succession strategy. A rigorous process involved external specialists, as well as support from the Family Business Ƶ organisation, to identify the next generation of family members with the passion and determination to take the business forward.
BusinessLive has been fortunate to ‘take tea’ with the Ringtons board every year for several decades, to find out how the business has been progressing. At our recent meeting it was the new, younger directors who took centre stage, revealing the gradual, important changes which are being made.
Nigel Smith has recently stepped down as chairman after 50 years-plus in the business, and the board now includes the new chair, Nigel’s daughter Julia Thompson, and directors Brigitte Keatings, Elliot Smith, Tom Smith and Nadia Johnson.
Each of the new directors have roles to play to their strengths, with Brigitte focusing on the Ringtons brand and direct-to-consumer strategy and sales; Elliot in charge of tea, including production and packing operations; Nadia focused on transformation, with significant strategic interventions across Ringtons particularly in people and digital, and finally Tom in charge of performance, specifically business improvement strategies and practice across Ringtons.
Julia, who first joined the board as a non-executive director 12 years ago, said: “The transition succession for us is quite big for us now. My dad Nigel who has been in the business more than 50 years and chairman for a lot of that, retired officially at the beginning of this year. So I have taken over as non-exec chair.
“I guess the big deal is Dad leaving after 50 years. Colin and Simon are still in the business but we are working through this plan to transition. A non-exec fourth family generation David Smith also retired and he has been replaced by two fifth generation family members. So it’s really happening.
“We have the four fifth generation directors in place who have now been in the business since July 2023. And what we are starting to see are the tangible impacts of having the fifth generation in the business.”
Those tangible examples include a range of new products, including apple pie cookies, ginger snap and decaf Earl Grey tea. New packaging has also been created, with new designs on biscuits now including street scenes, the firm’s headquarters on Algernon Road and the doorstep delivery staff themselves which Julia said are “absolutely the most important asset that we have”.
Elsewhere in the business, investment into a new unit at Balliol Business Park was also led by the new generation in a vote of confidence in the new executive team and the plans for the future. And looking ahead, the firm will be more data driven, with more digital investment and investment in human resource. There could even be a Ringtons app somewhere down the line.
Colin said: “It’s on the move. It’s on the move and it’s a bit strange, but we are very confident that we have got a very capable, enthusiastic, ambitious fifth generation director group who we feel confident in taking the business forward, hold the values up high and continue to concentrate on ensuring the business thrives.”
Julia puts the successful transition down to the long term view of her father and his two brothers, and she said work is already starting with the sixth generation.
She said: “I think we are lucky in the handover, to have a fourth generation director group who are so invested in transition. Through the Family Business Ƶ network we’ve come across a lot of other businesses and it can be brutal, and you can have a very reluctant, older group of directors who don’t want to handover the reins, and do what they can to resist change.
“We’ve had the absolute opposite experience. Certainly from my point of view with the fifth generation it’s been very positive. As a family business we’ve done what we can. The fourth generation was very insightful in planning for the future.
“We’ve had days of learning how to be responsible shareholders. And we’ve had the sixth generation, our kids, having a tour around the factory, the tea tasting – the journey from being a young shareholder to working in the business has been well managed.
“In 2000 we all signed the ‘Family Guide’, which talks about rules we set ourselves as family and shareholders in how we should interact with the business, such as conditions that need to be met in order to just contemplate joining the business. It’s quite prescriptive but what that does is protect the family, aligns us all from day one - it’s nothing personal. It talks about the huge variety of different areas in which the family may or may not interact with each other, and keeps us all honest.
“We really believe in the advantage of being family run as well as family-owned, and the outlook of being multi-generational rather than have a five, 10-year time horizon, but for the culture and values and true alignment to our local community.
“Family management optimises that, but if we didn’t feel that we had a group within this current generation who were capable enough it was absolutely clear that we would look outside family – it’s a business first philosophy. So we are delighted that we have four extremely capable directors.
She added: “It’s a big deal for us and I feel really proud. We’ve still got a way to go but knowing how difficult it can be makes us proud.”
