Cloetta Fazer to close subsidiary in Poland

The Swedish confectionery company Cloetta Fazer will close its subsidiary in Gdansk, Poland, during 2005. The company will continue to sell its brands on the Polish market through collaboration with a local distributor.The number of employees in Cloetta Fazer Polska is 320. Union consultations will be started immediately after Easter and are expected to be finalised before the end of April 2005.


Cloetta Fazer’s Polish subsidiary has recorded losses for the past few years, mainly due to a weak market position and a tough price competition. According a company press release, under these market conditions, it has not proven possible to operate a profitable production and sales company.
The total production volume in 2004 was 5,500 tonnes, down by 20% from the preceding year. The Polish subsidiary reported net sales of MSEK 169 (18.5 Mio. EUR) and a profit after net financial items of MSEK –10 (- 1.1 Mio. EUR) in 2004, and is expected to show a loss throughout the remainder of 2005.


“Cloetta Fazer’s strategy is to focus on the Group’s strongest brands. We will continue to market and sell our prioritised brands on the Polish market through a local distributor. In the future, the Polish market will be supplied by the Group’s units in Finland and Sweden. Together, these measures will provide a more cost-effective solution”, says Karsten Slotte, CEO of Cloetta Fazer and President of the Supervisory Board of Cloetta Fazer Polska.