Pet food and accessories company Bob Martin is to close its French factory in Nemours less than a year after it closed its factory in Udine, Italy.
The factory was acquired when the company bought the Nestlé Purina PetCare business that made food for birds, rodents, aquatic and small mammals. Along with the french factory and distribution centre Bob Martin also acquired manufacturing, distribution and salesforce capabilities in Spain and Italy.
A Bob Martin spokesperson said: “It is with regret and sadness that Bob Martin has decided to close down its French operation, Bob Martin SAS. As you will be aware, we acquired the business from Néstle at the end of 2015 and had a plan to build that business. Unfortunately, over the last 30 months, the operating environment in France has been much tougher than expected.
“The culmination of events, and particularly issues arising in the last few months, means that the board of Bob Martin consider that a turnaround plan for France is unlikely to succeed. In the interests of the wider group, it can no longer continue to finance the ongoing losses of the French subsidiary.
“The board of Bob Martin (UK) has taken external advice on this matter and has not made this decision lightly. The intention is to focus on our businesses in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, all of which are viable and profitable. In particular, we will be concentrating on serving our customers to the level they require and we have historically achieved.
“We do not envisage the events in France having an effect on the service we provide in other countries.”
