Abundant Harvest Case Study
Deeksha Manjunath
Prof. Johnsen
MGRL 190.04
30 October 2014
Case Study: Abundant Harvest
Abundant Harvest, located in Devil’s Valley, Wisconsin, is a long-time processor in the highly seasonal vegetable canning industry and is well known for the consistent quality of its product offerings. Chelsea Skye-Rice, previously the financial director, succeeded her father, Robert Skye, as the president of Abundant Harvest. Don Bartley, Robert Skye’s nephew, is the sole sales rep for the company. Abundant Harvest records more than $28 million in sales annually. Currently, sales are down and buyers for some supermarket chains that might be potential new customers have demanded quantity guarantees much larger than Abundant Harvest can supply, which is difficult to do in the short-run. Also, changes in minimum wage laws have increased costs. These and other rising costs have squeezed profit margins, leading to the recent closing of two plants. Chelsea has identified narrowing profit margins, debts contracted for new plants and equipment, and an increasingly competitive environment as concerns to address when formulating Abundant Harvest’s strategy. …show more content…
Previously, Abundant Harvest mainly sold through food brokers to merchant wholesalers, supermarket chains cooperatives, and other outlets, mostly in the Midwest. Of lesser sales volume, were direct sales to local institutions, grocery stores, and supermarkets—and sales of dented canned goods at low prices to walk-in customers. Robert was also able to accomplish several key business deals: inexpensive pineapple was imported from Taiwan and sold by Abundant Harvest, primarily to expand the product line, and a technically advanced continuous process cooker was imported from England and installed at one of Abundant Harvest’s
Prof. Johnsen
MGRL 190.04
30 October 2014
Case Study: Abundant Harvest
Abundant Harvest, located in Devil’s Valley, Wisconsin, is a long-time processor in the highly seasonal vegetable canning industry and is well known for the consistent quality of its product offerings. Chelsea Skye-Rice, previously the financial director, succeeded her father, Robert Skye, as the president of Abundant Harvest. Don Bartley, Robert Skye’s nephew, is the sole sales rep for the company. Abundant Harvest records more than $28 million in sales annually. Currently, sales are down and buyers for some supermarket chains that might be potential new customers have demanded quantity guarantees much larger than Abundant Harvest can supply, which is difficult to do in the short-run. Also, changes in minimum wage laws have increased costs. These and other rising costs have squeezed profit margins, leading to the recent closing of two plants. Chelsea has identified narrowing profit margins, debts contracted for new plants and equipment, and an increasingly competitive environment as concerns to address when formulating Abundant Harvest’s strategy. …show more content…
Previously, Abundant Harvest mainly sold through food brokers to merchant wholesalers, supermarket chains cooperatives, and other outlets, mostly in the Midwest. Of lesser sales volume, were direct sales to local institutions, grocery stores, and supermarkets—and sales of dented canned goods at low prices to walk-in customers. Robert was also able to accomplish several key business deals: inexpensive pineapple was imported from Taiwan and sold by Abundant Harvest, primarily to expand the product line, and a technically advanced continuous process cooker was imported from England and installed at one of Abundant Harvest’s