Crawshaw Share Discussion Threads

[davidosh] 01/10/2017 23:04

Here is the BBC news link

[playful] 01/10/2017 23:00

2S have tonight admitted internal investigation had shown "some isolated instances of non-compliance" at its plant in West Bromwich.

"We have therefore decided to temporarily suspend operations at the site to allow us the time to retrain all colleagues, including management, in all food safety and quality management systems."

[haroldthegreat] 01/10/2017 20:48

BBC teletext says 2 sister have suspended operations for staff retraining.it looks as though it was a local issue where staff did not follow laid down procedures.
Staff were probably cautioned if they dropped food so rather than be castigated they put it where it should have gone instead of discarding it. The label switching cannot be explained away. No doubt the FSA will get too the bottom of that one. They have the voices of those on tape so the culprits can be interviewed.
Hopefully the fall out on craw will be limited .having spoken with Noel soon after he joined I was impressed with him and invested. hopefully the shares will recover

[playful] 01/10/2017 19:27

To be honest I do not think the FSA have found anything wrong since the story came out, but ITV have 20 separate witnesses who are currently talking to the FSA so we need to wait and see what happens.

[haroldthegreat] 01/10/2017 19:25

when an undercover investigation such as this occurs the fsa should have been contacted by the news team way before contacting the company. I do not know if that was done. otherwise when the fsa go in they will have had time to cover up their activities (if any ).

[playful] 01/10/2017 19:22

ITV main news early this evening

[haroldthegreat] 01/10/2017 19:17

you said factory closing where did you see that information. itv main news or local news in your area ?

[playful] 01/10/2017 19:17

It was on the TV as I was working my way through the roast potatoes, try catch-up.

[haroldthegreat] 01/10/2017 19:14

there is nothing on line about Tesco factory closing down yet .nor on Tesco website.

[playful] 01/10/2017 19:12

Yes, we should have put out a similar statement of suspension pending investigation on Friday but we didn't and now all the supermarkets have got their statements out we look conspicuous by our silence.

A small outfit not a stones throw from our HQ had this to say on Friday....

To reassure all our valued customers who have seen the 6.00pm news that we DO NOT/HAVE NEVER bought our chickens from the company 2 Sisters

I expect leadership from the front not a bunny cought in the headlights.

[haroldthegreat] 01/10/2017 19:07

we should announce if we had products from this facility or if our products came from other factories which have not been closed .

[haroldthegreat] 01/10/2017 19:05

suspension is not termination . Tesco have to be seen as taking action they cannot have their reputation tarnished. If all other chains do likewise to preserve their reputations (which is very likely ) 2 sisters will have a real problem.
it is possible that is a management failure at just one facility and the other facilities are operating correctly according to the company SOP.
What is prepared at the other facilities ? duplication of chicken preparation as here or different products prepared at different facilities with no overlap.

if the FSA finds failings company wide they will close all facilities. If not one can assume it is just a local issue.

One cannot blame Crawshaw for this.
It is up to 2 sisters to investigate and report very quickly to preserve their company. We at least have got our investment and should be able to find alternative suppliers , however with the chains all looking for alternative sources there will be a massive market shortage.

[playful] 01/10/2017 18:23

ITV have just reported all operations at this 2S factory have shut down as Tesco announced immediate suspension of all business.

[sefton1] 01/10/2017 12:54

But owenski, if this is a high risk unattractive business why did davidosh make it one of his top tips for this year? I thought he was supposed to be a stock picking guru.

[haroldthegreat] 01/10/2017 07:38

The tie up was a benefit to both companies. unfortunately there appears to be a problem at one plant but that might well turn out to be one manager not following company procedures and SOP to maximise his bonus and appear to have less waste.
One will have to see what the authorities uncover.
If a single plant problem there will have to be a change of staff there . if found to be a company problem we will have to go back to our previous sources.
Perhaps a national ban on sale or return deals for the supermarkets will solve the problem.perhaps the government should ban the practice and make the supermarkets reduce their short dated stock in their own stores to get rid of it .or allow them to sell direct to people like us but no repacking allowed by the original supplier.
If the supermarkets return their stocks to 3 sisters how can the company ensure that it has been stored at correct temperatures throughout its life.
In one paper readers suggested going to local butchers or farmers markets in future. I would imagine far more problems would be uncovered if these outlets were regularly inspected ie monthly !
Do you think a farmers market outlet would throw away every item that was dropped .how do you know their organic item is organic and not normal produce purchased at tesco and just marked as organic by the final seller ?

[playful] 30/9/2017 15:09

From reading today's press it's not just the FSA who will be asking questions...

The chairman of parliament’s environment, food and rural affairs committee, Neil Parish, said he was preparing to call the founder of 2 Sisters, Ranjit Singh Boparan, to Westminster to answer questions about the scandal.

Sainsbury's becomes fourth supermarket to suspend taking chicken from 2S today.

[playful] 30/9/2017 14:17

I have suggested to our CEO on numerous occasions it would be well received if he and the FD purchased shares in the company to demonstrate their support, but Noel told me he was employed for his skillsets and not to buy shares and has a large family and commitments.

You must suspect having no experience in running a company on AIM before he doesn't understand the significance of such a commitment, but nonetheless he is one of the highest paid CEOs on AIM so I don't think you can say in all seriousness he can't afford to buy something. It is noteworthy that we have a guy working in Pocklington that must be on little more than minimum wage but has bought into the company that pays his wages, so let's see the same from our CEO!

[owenski] 30/9/2017 11:43

Sounds to me that Two Sisters uses Craw as an outlet for substandard, unsaleable by other routes, meat products.

Bargepole area imo

[davidosh] 29/9/2017 22:08

They will be incredibly busy now all the way through to Christmas and just after. Two more factory stores coming soon as well.
I am arranging a factory store tour and Q&A for a focus group of investors in late January and will report back then.

Re AGMS.....just turn up and do not vote if you do not have any documents with you or the registrars get worried. I attend hundreds and directors are always pleased to meet shareholders and you get the chance to ask questions. ShareSoc have lots of info about AGMs and a library of reports too..

[rimmy2000] 29/9/2017 19:29

Playful, hopefully you will read this and be able to comment.
David, appreciate your thoughts on this. I guess there is a natural sense of reassurance of significant director purchases, but I do agree an LTIP should ensure Noel's interests are aligned.
I wanted to attend the AGM but never heard back from them.

It would be good (edit: to have) them back to Mello, but I assume they are too tied up at the moment to find the time.

[davidosh] 29/9/2017 19:19

Director buying.....I think Playful raised that question at the Agm but I was not there so hopefully he can answer that one for you.

I do know that Noel has a large young family so probably does not invest at present is my guess. The chairman bought shares and so did a non exec director so the board as a whole have invested. If anyone is suggesting Noel and Alan are not committed without investing lots of money into equity then I think you are totally wrong.

I also know for a fact that Noel took a substantial pay drop by coming to Crawshaws but had the incentive of a long term share plan.....I think that is looking even more like a big cut at the moment so he will be the person most intent to turn the company fortunes and that share price round

[rimmy2000] 29/9/2017 19:01

davidosh, have you any understanding why Collet or other mgmt are not buying shares on the open market at these levels. Do you not find that a bit worrying?