Jóhannes Jónsson

Early life Jóhannes's parents were Jón Elías Eyjólfsson, a store manager at the Sláturfélag Suðurlands in Reykjavík (1916-2001) and Kristín Fanney Jóhannesdóttir, a housewife and also an employee of the Sláturfélags Suðurlands (1918-2012).

Jóhannes began working at a young age for his father in the food section of the Sláturfélag Suðurlands, later becoming the shop manager there for two decades. He had studied printing, but never worked in this profession. He 'was not part of the Reykjavik elite, having no prime minister in his bloodline, no link to one of the well-cushioned Octopus families. He had trained in a slaughterhouse and was a grocer in a supermarket chain'.

Business empire Made redundant in 1987, he founded the Bónus stores in Iceland in 1989 with his son and president of Baugur Group, Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson.

In 2012, he opened an Iceland branch of the UK supermarket chain Iceland in collaboration with the company's founder Malcolm Walker.

He died of cancer on 27 July 2013.