When " Excellence " becomes a liability !

Most people will have heard the news that Darrell Lea is under administration with sadness.   The shops displaying that magnificent array of confectionery were a sight to behold, and to step inside and savour the smell was to get the taste buds salivating.     For eighty five years this family owned business has been serving the sweet tooths of Australians and now it seems another icon is to be lost.

The Australian retail landscape has changed greatly in those eighty five years.   Two gigantic food retailers have come to dominate the world of supermarkets and in doing so they have wiped the floor with the era of  " corner stores " that was their fore-runner.    The weapon used was - price !

Eighty five years ago, manufacturers told resellers what price to charge for their product.  It was an age where stores that sold below the approved selling price were actually punished by manufacturers  refusal to supply for that misdemeanour.   The age of the supermarket dawned with bulk buying being used to force down prices and destroy the stability of an agreed price regime.

You will not find Darrell Lea products on offer in the major supermarkets.. That is the provence of the manufacturers of confectionery who compete on price.   The product they produce is a fine balance of ingredients mixed to deliver an acceptable taste at the lowest possible cost.   The quest for " excellence " belongs in another realm.

Darrell Lea catered for that " excellence " market and so the product offered was restricted to four market opportunities each year - and that was Christmas, Easter, Mother's day and Father's day.    The human psych dictates that the gift we bring on those auspicious occasions must be far removed from the dreary product with mundane packaging found on supermarket shelves, and Darrell Lea specialised in not only confectionery with great taste, but the splendour of artfully crafted packaging that engaged the eye appeal and invited compliments.

Early on, the family that owned Darrell Lea understood that to successfully promote their products they would need to have control of it's presentation, and that required it to be sold from premises under their control.  The Darrell Lea brand became known for it's dazzling presentation in speciality Darrell Lea shops. It was the only place to go if you wished to select a gift that stood head and shoulders above the confectionery crowd.

It seems that the relentless march of overhead costs and the contraction of spending arising from the 2008 GFC has made those four peak sales periods each year less able to deliver an annual successful bottom line.
Hopefully, a buyer will be found and the business will continue, but if not - the fable of the great days of Darrell Lea, when confectionery of excellence was a welcome gift on special occasions will pass into folk lore.