Sara Lee’s new owners have pledged to keep its 200 employees on the payroll despite previously cutting jobs as they turned around failed chocolate company Darrell Lea.
Sara Lee went bankrupt in October last year with debts of $55 million, shocking many Aussies who regularly gorge on desserts at the brand’s supermarket.
But the keys The iconic Australian frozen dessert brand’s factory on NSW’s Central Coast was handed over to new owners Klark and Brooke Quinn on Tuesday.
The couple vowed to stay for the ‘long term’ after meeting the staff whose jobs they saved.
‘Sara Lee does not exist without its 200 employees,” Quinn told the newspaper ABC.
The keys to the iconic Australian frozen dessert brand’s factory on NSW’s Central Coast were handed over to new owners Klark and Brooke Quinn on Tuesday, with the pair praising the company’s employees
“A lot of these guys have been here for over 40 years…they’ve given their whole lives to Sara Lee.”
Mr Quinn’s father Tony – who founded the VIP Petfoods business which was sold for $410 million in 2015 – bought bankrupt chocolate maker Darrell Lea into receivership in 2012 for $11 million.
Mr and Mrs Quinn were credited with turning the company around after a restructuring resulted in more than 400 employees losing their jobs.
The couple even moved to Darrell Lea’s Ingleburn factory to restore it to financial health.
“We lived in the factory for three years, seven days a week and because we covered all facets of the business it was a good idea of what we needed to do,” Mr Quinn said. A current issue.
The Quinn family sold Darrell Lea in 2018 for $200 million.
But Mr Quinn, a former racing driver and three-time Australian GT champion, played down his business acumen over their recent takeover, insisting they were in it for the ‘long haul’.
“We will not save Sara Lee,” he said.
“It will be the staff and the communities, it will be Australians.”
The ABC revealed that Sara Lee owes nearly $10 million to unsecured creditors will not be repaid.
Mr Quinn said he had sympathy for these companies, but emphasized that he and his partner had “no say in what happened in the past”.
Mr and Mrs Quinn (pictured) were credited with turning the company around after a restructuring saw more than 400 employees lose their jobs.
Sara Lee was founded in Australia in 1971 in Lisarow on the N.S.W Central Coast.
Following the government’s decision late last year, a desperate search was launched to find a new buyer for the company.
The company operates in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Aus
The most popular dessert is the French vanilla cheesecake.
Aussies are celebrating the news that Sara Lee has been rescued. The photo shows TV star Sophie Monk, once an ambassador for the brand.