Darrell Lea
Industry | Chocolate Confectionery Food and drink |
---|---|
Founded | 1927 |
Founder | Harry Lea |
Headquarters | , Australia |
Key people | Darrell Bernard Lea |
Products | Chocolate, liquorice and other confectionery |
Owner | Quadrant Private Equity |
Number of employees | 200 (2018[1]) |
Website | www |
Darrell Lea is an Australian company that manufactures and distributes chocolate, liquorice and other confectionery. Its headquarters is based in the Sydney suburb of Ingleburn. After 85 years under the ownership and control of the Lea family, the company went into voluntary administration in 2012 leading to its acquisition, sale and restructuring under new ownership.
History
Darrell Lea was in the ownership of the Lea family from its foundation by Harry Lea until the early 2010s. Harry, who was born on 15 February 1876 in
Monty (Montague) and Harris Lea, the two middle sons of Harry, opened a manufacturing operation in Melbourne, with their first shop on Swanston Street, in 1940.
Harry Lea died in 1957. Maurice Lea, Harry's eldest son, opened five shops in Brisbane in 1966 and delivered fresh stock until he (Maurice) retired in 1996. Robert Lea, Harris' second son, opened a shop in Adelaide in 1966.
In 1968, the company was listed on the
Voluntary administration
On 10 July 2012, Darrell Lea was placed into
Acquisition
On 3 September 2012, the company was acquired by the Queensland owners of
In January 2018, Quadrant Private Equity purchased Darrell Lea from the Quinn family for about $200 million. Tony and Christina Quinn retained a significant stake in the company.[4]
Products
Prior to 2012, Darrell Lea's range comprised over 800 products, including chocolate boxes, sugar free products and fundraising items with 60 extra items created seasonally for Easter and Christmas. It is particularly famous for its iconic "Rocklea Road" recipe, Australia's most famous version of Rocky Road chocolate. In the review conducted by the Quinn family after the restructure, the company eliminated or put on hold many of the lesser-known products to concentrate on expanding the sales and distribution of its more profitable products.[citation needed]
Legal battle
In April 2008, Darrell Lea won a five-year legal battle brought by rival chocolate company Cadbury over Darrell Lea's use of the colour purple on its packaging (which Cadbury uses for its Dairy Milk range packaging), when the Australian judge ruled that Darrell Lea was not trying to fool customers by adopting the shade.[5][6]
Community involvement
Darrell Lea has sponsored a local high school in order to assist students in continuing their studies to completion, and has supported The Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home which employs people with severe
References
- Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Daily Telegraph. 27 April 2013.
- ^ a b Williams, Kylie (3 September 2012). "Darrell Lea to remain Australian owned". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ a b Thompson, Sarah; Macdonald, Anthony; Moullakis, Joyce (15 January 2018). "Quadrant Private Equity buys Darrell Lea". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ (12 April 2008). "Cadbury vs Darrell Lea chocolate war over colour purple". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 10 July 2012.
- ^ "Lea purple rides again after Cadbury backdown" The Age 9 March 2005
Further reading
- Copp, Amanda (27 March 2017). "When Family Business Turns Sour: The Story of Darrell Lea". Insight. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017.