Cadbury sales hold up despite shock exit

Cadbury chocolate sales have been ‘‘holding up’’ after a decision by owner Mondelez International to close its Dunedin factory next year, the company says.

Mondelez’s New Zealand head, James Kane, said the company had kept a close eye on sales since the decision to close the factory in March next year, with the loss of up to 350 jobs.

Cadbury had released a new range of innovative products since the announcement and sales had been ‘‘holding up’’, Kane said.

He would not provide sales numbers to support the claim, but cited the recent relaunch of Caramilk, with 12 weeks’ worth of stock selling out in under a month.

‘‘Our continued strong sales results have reflected our ability to deliver local innovation specific for Kiwi consumers.’’

Innovation was important in its industry, as consumers ‘‘vote with their feet’’.

Last year the company launched Cadbury Dairy Milk with Oreo Vanilla.

This week Kane was in Dunedin for the announcement of the historic Castle St dairy site, which will undergo a $7 million refurbishment to house Cadbury World.

‘‘This is a unique situation – around the world any business which closes a factory doesn’t turn around and invest $7m.’’

The company was aware of the heritage of the site, where food has been produced since 1870.

‘‘It’s such an important part of the tapestry of Dunedin.’’

However, the location of the factory, its size, and the range of items produced meant ‘‘it is just not big enough to compete on a global scale’’.

He was pleased that Cadbury World, the most popular tourism attraction in Dunedin, would be refurbished.

It was too early to say whether the neighbouring factory, which is on several titles, could become the site of Dunedin’s new hospital.