AN EMPIRE BUILT ON CONTROVERSY

By: Thomas Liquori

MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE

Operate in many host countries

Often conduct R&D activities

MNE’s cut across national borders

Often directed from a company planning center that is distant from the host country

NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

A controversial issue involving the conduct of MNE’s is their effect on the economic and political policies of the host and source governments

Many nations fear that the presence of MNE’s in a given country results in a loss of its national sovereignty

CHIQUITA’S COMPANY PROFILE

United Fruit Company was Founded in 1899 Purchased of Nipe Bay

in 1907 and Saetia Sugar in 1912.

Bought Samuel Zemurray's Cuyamel Fruit Company in 1930

United Fruit purchased A&W restaurants and root beer in 1966 and Baskin-Robbins ice cream in 1967

Eli Black, founder of AMK, bought United Fruit Company in 1970 and changed its name to United Brands.

The firm became Chiquita Brands International in 1990

MAIN INDUSTRY

Chiquita’s main industry is fresh fruits, vegetables and processed food

The company grows, procures, markets, and distributes bananas and other fresh fruits and vegetables under the premium Chiquita and other brands

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Fernando Aguirre

Chairman, CEO, President

Jeffrey ZallaSVP, CFO

Waheen Zaman

CIO

Kevin Holland VP

Tanios VivianiCMO

William TsacalisVP

CHIQUITA’S SWOT ANALYSIS

• Increasing oil prices

• Regulations• Legal

proceedings

• Growth in private label products

• Higher demand for organic products

• (EU) banana import regime

• Weak profitability

• Strong market position

• Wide geographic base

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

BANANA CONTROVERSY

Throughout the 1900’s the term “Banana Republic” has been associated with the banana producing countries of Central and Latin America

In 1974, the company paid a $1.25 M bribe to the President of Honduras in return for an export tax reduction applied to bananas.

CHIQUITA CONTROVERSY

In 1985, Costa Rican environmentalists filed a lawsuit, on behalf of banana plantation workers

Chiquita secretly control dozens of supposedly independent banana companies

Chiquita fruit-transport ships have been used to smuggle cocaine into Europe

BLOODY BANANAS In 2008, the New

York Times described how U.S. based Chiquita reached a $25M settlement over allegations that U.S seniors in Chiquita signed over $1M in payments to death squads in Columbia

Quick Financial Points First quarter financial

report stated Chiquita made a $31.7M profit in 2008, after losing $3.7M the same period the prior year

The actual amount of bananas that people bought dropped by 1% in the U.S & 14% in Europe

Chiquita’s New Endevor In 2008 Chiquita opens

large plantations in Africa, Mozambique , and Angola, to get around the European tariff regulations

Many compare George Bush to the CEO of Chiquita Bananas by not being able to make reasonable statements