Barnsley-based John Dennis Fresh Produce went into liquidation on Monday.
The company is a direct casualty of Kwik Save entering into administration. “We ceased trading as a result of a substantial sum of bad debt Kwik Save had with us,” md John Dennis told freshinfo.
The company employed 100 people at its head office and a further 200 in the 150 fresh produce franchises it operated within Kwik Save stores around the country.
The firm was founded in 1991 by Dennis and began supplying Kwik Save that year with its Splendour brand. It also had a range of flowers and plants. John Dennis Fresh Produce was an importer in its own right, as well as sourcing from some of the best- known companies in fresh produce and UK growers. It packed its own product at a dedicated packhouse.
The effect of Kwik Save’s demise might have been more widespread had it happened a few years ago, when wholesale markets around the country supplied more of the chain’s franchisees. But, particularly since the store’s format changed some 18 months ago, much of the business had migrated away from traditional wholesale markets to wholesalers operating away from market sites.
Kwik Save had a total of 196 stores when it went into administration at the end of last week.
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