Thorntons Strategic Analysis

There is very little information available about possible philanthropy. In 2013, they gave $25,000 to the Miami Children’s Health Foundation. They have also made at least 3 $5,000-$9,999 gifts to Blythedale Children’s Hospital and gifts of unknown sizes to Friends of the University of Nottingham America.

Haigh’s chocolate currently has over 300 employees and 13 retail stores; six in Adelaide, six in Melbourne and one in Sydney (Haight's Chocolates). They manufacture 200 different products and also produce a number of products whose sales supports various charities. (Soong-Kroeger, 2011)

Hershey’s and Cadburys are moving towards the premium chocolate market through the acquisition or upmarket launches (Zietsma, 2007). The profit potential present in this sector supported by its 20% annual growth rate make it very attractive for large organizations to come forward and avail this opportunity. There is a low threat of new entrants prevailing in this chocolate industry because of the high capital requirements and expected retaliation by current manufacturers. Current players in the industry also possess some barriers to entry for new entrants by maintaining economies of scales with their large production capacity and keeping their product differentiation with their specialized and novelty chocolate products. Even though there are low switching costs and easy access to distribution channels, but still the brand loyalty of the customers including the Rogers’ Chocolate itself make it harder for new firms to come into the competition.

On 1st May 1915, Alfred E Haigh opened the entryways of the Haigh 's Chocolates store at 34 King William Street, Adelaide. Alfred started adding his own flavour to the business. In 1917 Alfred purchased the family home and land at Parkside South Australia where he manufactured a little industrial facility, now the Visitors Center. In 1922, he moved shops to the Beehive Corner. In 1933, Alfred passed away all of a sudden. His child Claude assumed control over the running of the business, which had by then developed to six stores. Alfred 's grandson, John Haigh, joined the business in 1946 with a dream to take Haigh 's chocolate making to new statures. John altered the way the chocolates are made and in 1959 he became the Managing Director.

Serving as the number one source of our plastic use, companies opt for plastic containers because it's easy, feasible, and convenient. Food packaging alone makes up for 30-40% of landfills with much of that plastic being carried into the oceans. Going off of this, a new concept that's quickly becoming popular are package free grocery stores. These cost- effective grocery stores have everything you could possible need in bulk form and consumers bring glass or reusable containers, or cloth bags and fill them with the food they need. First popping up in cities like Berlin, Vienna, and Barcelona, many are finding this a more sustainable and eco-friendly option resulting in these sort of grocery stores quickly spreading across the ocean, with the first one in the United States expected to open in Brooklyn, New York. Business operators are extremely optimistic that this could serve a very impactful solution to getting rid of unnecessary plastic. (Che Jenny).

In the realm of waste reduction, Kroger’s recycling program enabled them to recycle over one billion tons of corrugated cardboard in 2007. Efforts have increased since then. They have reduced the use of plastics and paper by introducing and encouraging the use of reusable bags. Additionally, the reusable bags themselves are made from 25% recycled material. Kroger has also reduced paper usage by using more electronic and digital communications and some paperless administration operations. This has saved over 91 million sheets or 455 tons of paper since inception. Kroger also reduced the waste of food by rescuing food prior to spoilage and donating what is termed “not for retail” food.

Hand processed and wrapped chocolates need to become part of the past except for possibly putting that final touch on a premium product line. They need to streamline and automate their production in order to improve the efficiency of their plant before they expand. They will need to compete in price and have the production capability to mass produce the planned lower end chocolate product line.

Theo Chocolate was first established in March 2006 by Debra Music and Joe Whinney in the Fremont- neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (theochocolate.com, our story). For Theo, they want to do more than just chocolate. It is about the land, the people, the dedication, and the interconnected relationships that bind all of them together. That is why Joe Whinney- Theo’s founder- first pioneered the supply of organic cocoa beans into the United Strates in 1994. Traveling and working in the tropics of Central America and Africa, Joe fell in love with the land and

In pursuit of upscale segments of the market and an increased market share, Consumer Food Groups (CFG) purchased the rights to become a distributor of Montreaux’s European chocolate products in the United States in June 2011. As CFG is the division which produces confectionery products for Apollo foods, they contribute not only to one-third of the company’s total revenues and net income, but are a vital part of Apollo’s ranking as second in the global confectionery business. Upon acquisition of the rights for Montreaux’s chocolates CFG formed a new division, Montreaux Chocolate USA. Under the leadership of David Raymond as division manager and Andrea Torres

In other efforts to be environmentally conscience, PepsiCo has reduced the packaging weight of their products by more than three hundred fifty million pounds, which exceeded their goal by more than twenty percent. In addition, PepsiCo has recycled approximately ninety-one percent of the waste, allowing less than nine percent to be sent to landfills. In some of the company facilities around the world as little as one percent of waste is sent to the landfills. Recycling of packaging is another commitment of PepsiCo. This commitment is being accomplished by using materials that are compatible with readily accessible recycling systems. (Environmental Sustainability)

‘’organisations exist and function within society and consequently are subject to a variety of social influences. These influences, which include demography, social class and culture, can change over time and affect both the demand and supply side of the economy. Marketing organisations recognise and make use of these factors when segmenting markets for consumer goods and service’’ Worthington, I (2009) p.135.

Commercial customers products differed by style & recipe from those provided through Thorntons own shops & regular customers could not be sure they were made by thornston.

In response to the company's growing needs, Hansen made the decision to adopt a new and integrated enterprise resource planning system (ERP) to manage its current workflow as well as prepare the company for future growth. The company selected a software package offered by Microsoft Business Solutions called Axapta. The implementation of this system took roughly six months for the financial and inventory modules and the manufacturing module went live about two months later. As a result of the new ERP system, the company benefited from a wide array of

Recycling materials should be addressed as rule number one to all companies and be self-applied to help sustainability because “mankind is consuming more than Mother Nature producing her supplies to us (Global Footprint Network, 2009).”

S Date of creation: 1986 S President: Philippe Jambon S Producer and seller of chocolate S French company S Number of shops: 284 shops in France and 34 abroad S Franchisee business