Big Retail Changes Blog Series: Ketching-Up on Heinz
As we enter the final quarter of 2015, we are inclined to look back at some of the changes the past few months have brought to the retail industry, and this week we thought we’d discuss one of the more recent, and bigger, changes to take place – the Kraft-Heinz downsizing.
Back in 2013, Heinz was taken over, and in March the ketchup-giant merged with Kraft. Since then, the company has announced it will be cutting 2500 jobs across Canada and the US as a way to cut costs. According to a recent Toronto Star article, many of these job cuts will take place in Kraft’s Illinois headquarters, although salaried positions in Canada will also be slashed.
This decision to downsize and reduce costs is based on a number of different factors, some of which are more telling than others. For example, according to the article, “Together, the two U.S. food giants own brands including Jell-O, Heinz baked beans and Velveeta that are facing sales challenges amid changing tastes.”
Obviously, as consumer tastes change, so too do strategies to remain competitive and cost effective, and Kraft-Heinz executives say they expect these changes to save approximately $1.5 billion annually by 2017. You can read the full article here: http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/08/12/kraft-heinz-slashing-2500-jobs-in-canada-us.html.
This change is just one of the many in a downsizing trend (or rightsizing as we like to call it) across the board. With many retailers deciding to downsize to smaller stores, often thanks to consumer demand, a smooth transition is crucial, especially when it comes to maintaining customer service levels and retaining customer loyalty. After all, you don’t want a change that is meant to boost sales to have the adverse effect!
If you are thinking of making some changes, whatever they may be, Marketsupport can help. We’ve got the people support and experience to make it easy yet effective. Call us today at 905.847.6513.
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