TORONTO -- Cott Corp. has announced further steps to strengthen its retail partnerships. The realignment includes the creation of fully integrated business units and Customer Development Teams that will allow for further cost reduction as well as improved connections with Cott's major customers.
As part of the change, the roles of North American Business Unit president and chief manufacturing and supply chain officer will be merged, directly integrating supply chain with the needs of retailers, to further improve customer service. Concurrent with this [image-nocss] change, newly created Customer Development & Solutions Teams including dedicated marketing and supply chain resources for customers will replace the previous, more traditional sales structure. These teams will become the new customer-facing organization and will enable better service and growth with major retailer partners.
Rick Dobry, currently chief manufacturing and supply chain officer, will take on the role of president for North America. He has more than 20 years in the food and beverage industry with companies including Kraft, Tropicana and Diageo. Prior to joining Cott in 2006, he was president Americas supply for Diageo, and prior to that was head of sales, manufacturing and supply for Tropicana.
As part of the realignment, and concurrent with the last step in office closings and the consolidation of the senior leadership team in Tampa, Fla., Mark Halperin, chief legal and ethics officer and corporate secretary, John Dennehy, president of the North America business unit, and Kerry Morgan, vice president of corporate communications will be departing the company following a brief transition period. These and other headcount reductions will result in a charge of approximately $8 million in the second quarter and form part of restructuring costs previously announced in October 2006. The changes announced today are expected to result in a similar level of savings over a 12-month period.
Cott is one of the world's largest nonalcoholic beverage companies and the world's largest retailer brand soft drink provider. It operates in more than 60 countries, with its principal markets being the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. Cott markets or supplies more than 200 retailer and licensed brands, and company-owned brands including Cott, RC, Vintage, Vess and So Clear. Its products include carbonated soft drinks, sparkling and flavored waters, energy drinks, sports drinks, juices, juice drinks and smoothies, ready-to-drink teas and other noncarbonated beverages.
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