Chiquita Brand International is entering a new chapter, according to interim chief executive Brian Kocher, as it departs its home of three years in Charlotte.
The group, which is now under Brazilian ownership after being officially acquired by Cavendish Acquisition Corporation this month – the affiliate of juice company Cutrale and banking group Safra – is moving out of Charlotte in order to move its customers closer to suppliers and customers, according to a letter sent to employees by Kocher and published by the Charlotte Observer.
Chiquita only moved to Charlotte in 2011, leaving its home in Cincinnati and moving into the Nascar Plaza office tower.
In Kocher's message to employees, he said that upcoming changes would create a 'simplified and streamlined' business model that would be 'more appropriate for the competitive markets' the fresh produce giant serves.
The company will be organised around three business units of Chiquita bananas and pineapples, Fresh Express salads and snacks, and Chiquita Fruit Solutions, Kocher continued in the letter.
'As a consequence we have made the decision to transition over the next twelve to eighteen months all operational departments and remaining corporate services to be closer to our customers and operations, and out of Charlotte,' he said. 'This will improve business efficiency and decision making to prepare the springboard for our growth as three focussed business units.'
