WHAT IT ALL COMES DOWN TO IS MONEY, AND THE YOUNGER LEA'S WERE MONEY HUNGREY. THE FIRST MR LEA WOULD BE HEART BROKEN. I WORKED THERE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND LEFT WHEN THEY GOT MONEY HUNGREY IT WASN'T THE SAME FAMILY FRIENDLY COMPANY TO WORK FOR ANY MORE. AND WHAT'S WITH THE PRE-PACKRD STOCK THAT'S WAS THE ONE THING THAT SET YOU APART FROM THE REST AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING HOW THINGS GOT DONE. MY MUM WORKED THERE FOR 25YRS AND LOVED IT UNTIL THEY GOT MONEY HUNGERY. IT JUST SAD, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT'S KEPT AUSTRALIAN ANYMORE?.

Having dealt with Darrel Lea for years following is what I believe are the three main reasons for their demise:
1. The 3rd generation syndrome. They squandered far too much money on their lifestyle.
2. They grew their business on an export market of licorice and when the Aussie dollar grew stronger, they had to reduce their price significantly to compete overseas. This was done sometimes at a loss.
3. Their two biggest selling products were - Licorice and Rocky Road. To increase volumes on this they decided to sell these products to the major Supermarkets - bad decision. Consumers used to visit Darrel Lea stores for their licorice and would then buy other products which attracted good margin. Now they did not need to go to darrel Lea stores, instead they could get their Darrel Lea products from Woolworths or Coles. Very bad decision.

Great to read your story, well done. But unfortunatly to late for our family business as we will also shut the doors at the end of July after 65 Yrs

Hi Alvin, apparently since 2006 "Michael Lea is now the only family member on the board." [From http://www.companydirectors.com.au/Director-Resource-Centre/Publications/Company-Director-magazine/Back-editions-2000-2009/2006/January/cover-story-the-search-for-a-successor]

"There used to be 13 family members working in the business, but now there’s only three."

As a Gen X kid I coveted sheets of nut chocolate displayed in Daaell Lea windows, but then I grew up, my taste became increasingly sophisticated, I demanded better quality and I wanted to shop in store environments that delight. Meanwhile Darrell Lea stood still becoming a pariah of its genre. It showcased product in stores that only my grandmother could love and whether perceived or true, it failed to deliver on a promise of quality. Clearly I, like so many others of my and subsequent generations, shared this view as we abandoned Darrel Lea for the queues at Haighes and Lindt.

MBA
New blood was indeed bought in, however, the board remained the same. no point bringing in new blood when the controlling members stayed the same and the infighting remained the same. as stated before the main cause of the demise of the company can be blames squarely on the bickering between siblings. Unfortunate but true.

So sad to see a family business fail-
The Chocolate Box is over now 50+ and the second generation is well and truely in place-
However I feel the most beneficial changes were made when one member spent twenty odd years in Europe building another Business and then coming back in with a refreshed outlook, feel this could be the key.

As a person that dealt with Darrell Lea for many years though EDI, although I do admit distantly, from what I saw they were not resistance to change towards the end. It was when they were doing well twenty-five years ago when that was true. Then they were the worst of suppliers with computerization that I had to deal with. Even electronic catalogues they refused to discuss.

However, recently they became very progressive.

Isn't if funny how your childhood memories of an iconic brand take you to a special place with inspiration and awe, customer service with a smile, taste samplings and ladies in brightly coloured dresses with embracing the magic of chocolate and all the happy memories it brings. It seems as the generations grew up, they were handed their jobs and lifestyles on a platter without regard for the hard work that went into developing an iconic Australian brand. The last media article I read on Darrell Lea was regarding one "Lea" socialite having a lavish wedding - no expense spared and being transported by sea plan, because she had lost her licence drink driving..there's two sides to every story and I think Stuart Bennie has a very valid point that should not be discounted!

MBA that is definately a recipe for disaster, to know where Darrell Lea started to go wrong we would need to go back to where the problems began which we will never really know, they know but its probably now a blame game for them.
Certainly there have been issues there, I still believe that they could have survived by not changing their image as it was their image that set them aside from anyone else as it stood for timeless quality. One of the major issues that I can see is they were simply forgotten while other alternatives became available, a company cannot just stand on their brand and open more stores and do nothing because as other generations come up they wont know who they are, weather they could have sold into Coles, definately on the short term their sales would have increased but it could also damage their brand in the long run. Unfortuantely what I think or anyone else says is irrelevant, there were collective resaons that paved the way for their collapse and no one sets out to destroy their own business, we all do what we think is right at the perticular point in time.
One things for sure they had a good brand and their products were excellent (stocking the generics was a desperate attempt and that would have damaged the brand in itself) with the right person behind Darrell Lea and the cash that company would grow even in these tough economic times.

Have been reading with interest the demise of Darrell Lea and other Retail established businesses over the past few months. I cannot believe how quick everyone is to blame the Companies themselves in these tough times. Even Myer are now saying it is the worst trading conditions in 25 years. Rent to sales is one of the biggest reasons for Retailers failing, and when sales go down and rent keeps rising there is only so much that can be done to trim the costs. How many of us are paying the rents that we paid 25 years ago. As with many Retailers the Landlord has now become their biggest creditor and until there is a level paying field with rent to sales we will continue to see Retailers closing in both Major Shopping Centres and Strip Centres as is currently happening.

In recent years I think Darrell Lea stores have had a good mix of original favourites and new products. Their stores have had a makeover with new logo etc and they have quality product. Could it be their pricing compared to other chocoltae products on the market? Could it be the cost of doing business and manufacturing in Australia? Could it be consumers not being prepared to buy at a certain price point putting pressure on margins? Cant go past a bit of Rocky Road, my personal favourite.

Interesting comment from MBA ... maybe Darrell Lea has suffered from the disease where "very clever people make very stupid decisions".

In fact with Darrell Lea, new blood was brought in and appointed an outsider as CEO, and another. Then his grand plans wwas to expand and built a multi-million dollar factory which they can't afford now, and also cannibalized their own iconic product by selling generic branded ones. ????