Following the tragic news of industry entrepreneur Alan Nuttall’s passing earlier this week at the age of 80, he was today praised as a passionate businessman and visionary whose nurturing presence had a beneficial impact on coworkers and friends.
After a brief illness, Mr. Nuttall, the founder of The Alan Nuttall Partnership, which includes the Flexeserve and Nuttall brands, passed away on Sunday, September 11.
He had happily worked for the firm he created for 56 years, and even though he had reduced his involvement in 2022, he still held the position of chairman of the employee-owned corporation.
One of Mr. Nuttall’s career hallmarks was his extraordinary vision. He created a groundbreaking self-service fruit retail model in 1975, and Asda and Morrisons were among the big supermarkets to embrace it. Today, this approach is still widely used.
He was a proud working-class Yorkshireman who was known for having a strong business drive.
His story of humble beginnings began in 1966 when he established Alan Nuttall Ltd., a company that specialised in greengrocery shopfitting, with just £137.
“His presence was immense and undeniable,” the Partnership Board declared. We will remember him as a visionary with unwavering dedication to his family and his business. His legacy and zeal for the company will go on since he was dearly loved and admired.
As a keen innovator, he was inspired by the self-service fruit shops he saw in the US and developed the UK’s first ever self-service system for fruiterers in 1975.
A year later, this led him to create Fruity Fruits, which went on to be the largest independent fresh produce wholesale and retail business, employing 650 people in the UK when it was sold to Birmingham Co-op in 1989.
Jamie Joyce, CEO of Flexeserve, said: “Alan was an inspirational mentor. He had a way of nurturing people to reach their potential – I experienced this first-hand. I’ve known him for my entire career and, without him, I would not be where I am today. I’m forever grateful and will miss him tremendously – both professionally and personally.”
Among his many achievements, Mr Nuttall celebrated two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, awarded twice in the Innovation category – first in 2005 and again in 2022.
One of Mr. Nuttall’s career hallmarks was his extraordinary vision. He created a groundbreaking self-service fruit retail model in 1975, and Asda and Morrisons were among the big supermarkets to embrace it. Today, this approach is still widely used.
He was a proud working-class Yorkshireman who was known for having a strong business drive.
His story of humble beginnings began in 1966 when he established Alan Nuttall Ltd., a company that specialised in greengrocery shopfitting, with just £137.
“His presence was immense and undeniable,” the Partnership Board declared. We will remember him as a visionary with unwavering dedication to his family and his business. His legacy and zeal for the company will go on since he was dearly loved and admired.
