Labatt made 'right call': Cascioli
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
(Mar 31, 2010)
Labatt made the right decision to shut down Hamilton's Lakeport Brewery, says the woman who rescued it from bankruptcy a little more than 10 years ago.
Teresa Cascioli says it "was a sad moment" when she heard yesterday about the closure that will throw 143 people out of work.
But she says she understands the business reasons behind it.
"They made the right call. Teresa as a Hamiltonian feels sad but Teresa the businessperson can't ignore the need to look at profitability and increased efficiencies."
Cascioli led Lakeport from 1999 to 2007 before selling her 21 per cent stake for $43 million to Labatt.
Cascioli, who now leads a philanthropic foundation, says she takes solace in the fact Labatt has promised to look after displaced workers and that the company is leaving behind $500,000 for community charities.
Cascioli is also happy to see that the Lakeport brand will live on, even if it is produced in London, Ont.
"All the time and energy and hours we spent at Lakeport to create a great brand, I'm pleased they will continue to support the brand."
She said it was all she and her partners could do to turn around the long-struggling brewery.
They built the brand into a leader in the discount beer market that eventually captured 5 per cent of beer sales.
Those efforts left no room to upgrade the plant, Cascioli says. In the meantime, giant Labatt was pumping $40 million into their London flagship brewery.
She also doesn't think Lakeport could have survived if shareholders had turned down Labatt's purchase offer in 2007.
"There was tons of competition and lots of pressure. We had momentum but I'm not sure where it would have taken us. Our competition didn't show their real muscle; they chose to buy us instead."
Cascioli, who was touted as a mayoral candidate before saying she isn't pursuing the post, says the city has to focus on attracting new businesses and nurturing the ones it has.
When told about calls from Hamiltonians to boycott Labatt popping up on Facebook and elsewhere, Cascioli said there is nothing personal in this decision.
"This is going to continue to happen and not just because of conglomerates," she said. "If we're not bringing in businesses, when something like this happens, it's huge. It's really important that the next council focuses on increasing the business base."