A KEIGHLEY businessman turned author will talk about his beliefs and career at a major event.

Gordon Black is to address the seventh annual Buy Yorkshire conference, which will be attended by more than 5,000 delegates and 185 exhibitors.

The event – staged by business membership organisation, the Yorkshire Mafia – takes place on May 16 and 17 at the Royal Armouries Hall, in Leeds.

“The theme of my talk will be that good behaviour is good business.,” said Mr Black, who was chairman of Keighley-based Peter Black Holdings for 30 years, until 2007.

“Any success we had at Peter Black was partly due to the fact that we encouraged management to treat suppliers in the way we would like our customers to treat us – you reap what you sow.

“The so-called gig economy has hastened this trend, with zero-hour contracts, impossible targets and distant, demanding management.

“We need to return to core business values that stress the team not the individual, steady and solid growth and giving something back to the community.

“This isn’t an impossible dream.

“John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are but two high-profile companies in the UK today which have made a virtue of looking after their staff, developing a culture of teamwork and inclusivity.

“As chairman of Peter Black Holdings for three decades, I worked with some good businesses – but alas, with a few bad ones too.”

Black’s was a major supplier of footwear, toiletries, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and logistics to UK retailers.

It boasted annual sales of £300 million and employed more than 3,000 staff.

Mr Black added: “All I can say is that the old dictum, ‘do as you would be done by’, is as applicable to business as it is to one’s personal life.

“And it is worth adding the salutary warning that poor business practices nearly always catch up with the perpetrators in the end.”

He said the conduct of big businesses and major corporations in the UK was likely to be a significant issue in the run-up to the General Election.

“There is widespread distaste for corporate greed and excess in the UK at the moment and I suspect all three main political parties will be focusing heavily on this during the campaign,” he said.

Mr Black’s acclaimed book, From Bags To Blenders, has just been released in paperback. Publisher is Icon Books.