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New sales, new products, a new addition and a new generation have revamped this Canadian company's business plan, accenting aggressive growth and sharper focus. by Berard Pacyniak
In the past, society could mark time through generations; a gentle reckoning that encompassed between 25 and 30 years. The pace of technological advancements during the last 20 years, however, coupled with their impact on society and its mores, have shattered that traditional yardstick for humanity.
Today, societal changes come in increments of five, rather than 25 years. Transformation rather than tradition rules.
As a result, businesses - particularly family-run operations - have had to adjust their strategic plans significantly during the last decade, bobbing and weaving to marketplace forces that come and go in much shorter and faster intervals. Many have opted out of this constant flux, becoming another statistic within the consolidation craze.
Others, such as Ganong Bros. Ltd., have found a way to manage that change, even successfully combining transformation with tradition.
As David Ganong, president of this fifth-generation family business, relates, the company has itself changed remarkably since Candy Industry last visited the St. Stephen-based confectioner in 1998.
At that time, Ganong Bros. had just sold its joint-venture operation in Thailand, escaping the economic collapse that infected that part of the world - the so-called Asian flu - by a mere few weeks.
While Ganong would love to claim clairvoyance, he affirms that it was merely "good timing" to have sold off the company's stake in the Asian business. At the same time, ongoing consolidation of the Canadian retail trade sent clear signals that there would have to be some adjustments in business strategies in St. Stephen.
"There were going to be fewer large customers for us to do business with," he explains. And while Ganong Bros. had a strong regional presence in Canada's Atlantic provinces, it became obvious that a more national presence had to be established.
"We had just finished going through our own product consolidation, allowing us to place greater focus on fewer products," Ganong says. "We were also in the beginning stages of formulating our three-year strategy, which called for stronger development of our Canadian boxed chocolate and fruit snacks business."
To replace the Asian export business, the...