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Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk. (Read 1372 times)
imcrookonit
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Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Jul 10th, 2012 at 2:03pm
 
Darrell Lea up for sale with 700 jobs at risk.    Sad

Date
    July 10, 2012


The iconic confectionery retailer Darrell Lea has gone under after 85 years in business.    Sad

Up to 700 jobs at Darrell Lea’s franchises and company-owned stores, as well as its factory in Kogarah, NSW, are at risk.

 

The family-owned company, famous for its Rocklea Road and soft licorice creations, has appointed insolvency firm PPB Advisory as voluntary administrators.


PPB’s Mark Robinson said the firm would undergo an urgent review of Darrell Lea with a view to selling the business as a going concern.


The owners, the Lea family, have agreed to provide some short-term financial support during the sale process.
Darrell Lea’s 69 company-owned and franchised stores will continuing operating as normal in the meantime. Darrell Lea has stores in Australia, New Zealand and United States.    Huh

“We will work with all stakeholders including employees and their representatives, licensees, customers and suppliers to ensure the business continues to operate effectively,” Mr Robinson said.

comments so far

        as expected, hardly see any customers in Darrell Lea these days.......     Sad

    Commenter
        OMG
    Location
        Melbourne
    Date and time
        July 10, 2012, 12:12PM

            Yeah, its a bit sad, but I stopped going in there since the chocolates are just too expensive. I think their focus on being in the big shopping centers that have sky high rents has backfired. They should have been in more small shopping strips and they could have kept their prices reasonable.    Sad

        Commenter
            Sorry, but...
        Location
        Date and time
            July 10, 2012, 12:36PM

            First remember Darrell Lea way back in the 1960s as a kid. They always put out a good tasty product but even back then they were a bit more expensive than most other chocolates. I'm surprised they've lasted this long to be honest. I'm not a big chocolate consumer, but I noticed each time I pass or go into one of their stores last few years, it's almost empty of customers.    Sad

        Commenter
            Consumer
        Location
            Sydney
        Date and time
            July 10, 2012, 1:04PM


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/darrell-lea-up-for-sale-with-700-jobs-at-risk-20120710-21str.html#ixzz20Bl7l24M
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Sir Spot of Borg
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #1 - Jul 10th, 2012 at 2:44pm
 
They need to change into an online business like everyone else. Problem is that when everyone is online - its all well and good but there wont be any jobs for the workers.

SOB
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #2 - Jul 10th, 2012 at 4:45pm
 
We use Darrel lea chocolates for gifts for our presenters and their product is superior to most but still a bit expensive. I guess the problem is that most people now buy on the basis of price rather than quality which makes a company like them doomed to be niche - for people who will pay for the quality.
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #3 - Jul 11th, 2012 at 8:15am
 
It's the best piece of advertising they've had since their inception.

All of a sudden, people are distraught that their favourite chockies may be no more and are stocking up.
I may even head out there myself Grin

http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8497097/chocaholics-make-a-run-on...
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #4 - Jul 11th, 2012 at 8:19am
 

That's sad, I love Darrell Lea sweets.

We lost our local Darrell Lea store about 20 years ago, tho....Sad
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Ex Dame Pansi
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #5 - Jul 11th, 2012 at 8:29am
 
Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Jul 10th, 2012 at 2:44pm:
They need to change into an online business like everyone else. Problem is that when everyone is online - its all well and good but there wont be any jobs for the workers.

SOB


This is true, that's why it's urgent that we find another industry apart from consumerism. Retail is dying, we've bought enough already.

We are coming out of the industrial revolution and into ?????? who knows, but capitalism is a goner.

Out with the old and in with the new. The age of wastefulness is almost over.
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John Smith
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #6 - Jul 11th, 2012 at 9:27am
 
overpriced and their chocolates aren't that great .... so many cheaper imported brands of swiss chocolate now that it was bound to happen sooner or later ... 

I only ever buy darrel lea when looking for gifts .. I think is the same with most people i know ... I never go there to buy chocolates to eat myself ...thats probably where they went wrong ... maybe they could reform as some sort of online gift shop .... they way they won't have to close everything ...
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #7 - Jul 11th, 2012 at 4:19pm
 
John Smith wrote on Jul 11th, 2012 at 9:27am:
overpriced and their chocolates aren't that great .... so many cheaper imported brands of swiss chocolate now that it was bound to happen sooner or later ... 

I only ever buy darrel lea when looking for gifts .. I think is the same with most people i know ... I never go there to buy chocolates to eat myself ...thats probably where they went wrong ... maybe they could reform as some sort of online gift shop .... they way they won't have to close everything ...


I think the "buying chocolate" experience morphed a few years back when places that sold them became boutique coffee shops as well.

Darrell Lea didnt change their approach, and I think this is the ultimate issue.

Their business model didnt change with their customers.  The other shops did.
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #8 - Jul 11th, 2012 at 7:10pm
 
Verge wrote on Jul 11th, 2012 at 4:19pm:
John Smith wrote on Jul 11th, 2012 at 9:27am:
overpriced and their chocolates aren't that great .... so many cheaper imported brands of swiss chocolate now that it was bound to happen sooner or later ... 

I only ever buy darrel lea when looking for gifts .. I think is the same with most people i know ... I never go there to buy chocolates to eat myself ...thats probably where they went wrong ... maybe they could reform as some sort of online gift shop .... they way they won't have to close everything ...


I think the "buying chocolate" experience morphed a few years back when places that sold them became boutique coffee shops as well.

Darrell Lea didnt change their approach, and I think this is the ultimate issue.

Their business model didnt change with their customers.  The other shops did.


Agree, this appears a simple case of poor management as there are a few buyers lining up.
Saw Dick Smith crying about Aussie chocolate makers today, really either you are a socialist protectionist and you agree with stopping the import of product we make or shut up with the crying.
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Re: Darrell Lea Up For Sale 700 Jobs At Risk.
Reply #9 - Jul 12th, 2012 at 3:28pm
 
Sounds like it might just have been bad management rather than anything to do with the economy or jobs moving offshore for cheaper labour:

Quote:
One thing is certain: Darrell Lea did not hit the wall because Australians stopped eating chocolate.

''I do think it's a bit of an aberration what's happened to Darrell Lea,'' said Naren Sivasailam, senior industry analyst at IBISWorld. ''Chocolate sales have actually been doing quite well, compared to a floundering retail sector generally.''

Darrell Lea on Tuesday called in administrator PPB Advisory, admitting it would struggle to keep paying its 700 staff. The news stunned staff, who now have to endure a nervous few weeks as PPB seeks a buyer for the 85-year-old confectioner.

The company's uncertain future is a puzzle. Unlike many retailing segments, such as fashion, Australia's chocolate and confectionery manufacturers generally rode out the global financial crisis without a stumble.

''Chocolate has a historical resilience during times of economic distress,'' Mr Sivasailam said. ''This goes back to the 1920s when the likes of Hershey's and Mars during the Great Depression … alleviated more pressing concerns about unemployment.''

Chocolate has been a ''comfort food'' during recent economic troubles, both in Australia and overseas, Mr Sivasailam said.  In the past five years, the industry's revenue has grown at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent, to more than $3 billion a year, according to analyst IBISWorld's May report.

Industry watchers blame Darrell Lea's slide instead on a failure to keep up with the times.

That's the view of Anouk Darling, chief executive of advertising agency Moon Communications Group, which held the Darrell Lea account until about four years ago.

Darrell Lea had ''failed to evolve'', said Ms Darling, a retail advertising specialist. As a result, the company had ceded ground to premium brands such as Haigh's, and had been overtaken in the mid-market by ''more innovative'' chocolatiers such as Happy Lab, she said.  ''Darrell Lea - while there's a lot of nostalgia and goodwill - hasn't kept evolving,'' Ms Darling said.  ''We might be consuming more chocolate than ever, but we're consuming in different ways … We're eating smaller, bite-sized, organic.''

Darrell Lea had either been late or missed altogether most of the big consumer trends in chocolate in the past five years, Ms Darling said.

While brands at the polar extremes of the market had ballooned - ''artisanal'' chocolate at one end and ''supermarket chocolate'' at the other - Darrell Lea had barely budged in the middle.

Its 69 stores were crammed with too many products and those steering the brand realised too late consumers were losing their taste for bulky chocolates, Ms Darling said.

The most important trend Darrell Lea missed, says Mr Sivasailam, was the ''organic, free-trade movement''.  In 2009-10, chocolate contributed to less than 10 per cent of total fair trade sales in Australia but leapt to 58.2 per cent of total sales - $110 million - in 2011-12, according to IBISWorld.  Even the chocolate multinationals have jumped on this trend.

Mr Sivasailam dismissed speculation that the high dollar was having a big impact on the chocolate industry in Australia.


http://www.smh.com.au/business/darrell-lea-missed-the-boat-on-trends-20120711-21...
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