Bendicks MP braced for bad news

31-Mar-2011 - Last updated on 01-Apr-2011 at 17:16 GMT

Related tags Germany

The future of the Bendicks chocolate factory in Winchester looks bleak, according to the local MP who met with its parent company Storck yesterday.

Winchester MP Steven Brine met Storck UK md Thomas Huber and Small Business Minister Mark Prisk at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in Whitehall.

The meeting followed an announcement from Storck on March 4 of the start of a 30-day consultation with 115 staff at its factory in Winnall; the German firm said it wanted to relocate production to East Germany.

Brine said: “Storck UK were at great pains to stress to us that no final decision has been taken about Winchester but shared some pretty grim figures with us in commercial confidence which I have to say don't bode well. The point remains their Winnall factory is not profit making.”

However, a skeleton sales and marketing staff for the after-dinner mint brand (which holds a royal charter) was likely to remain based in the UK, Brine added.

"Bendicks will retain a presence in Winchester whatever happens but I fear in spite of everyone's best efforts we may be bracing ourselves for bad news next month on chocolate production locally,” he said.

1 comment

Mark Prisk makes the effort!

Posted by Clive Hurst, 03 April 2011 - 21:48 GMT

A doomed meeting, but a slight glimmer of hope, after Mark Prisk gives his personal attention to the problem.

I hope he builds on this and ensures that the 115 workers jobs are not lost. It is just too easy to close the unit down. However, it is a huge task to conjure up new opportunities, where none exist.

What the company really needs is a salesforce that can get results. We have to blame top management for their business model.

The winners, win. The losers, keep losing!

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