30/04/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BvfjPQYaM/
The WOOLWORTHS and Beyers Chocolates breakdown is another reminder that corporate companies are only loyal to themselves. You can have a 34-year supplier history with a corporate but the moment you stop playing by their rules, they will cut you down to size, even if that means you liquidating your business!
I want to remind you all that a corporate company ONLY HAS ONE MANDATE. Every single decision they make flows from their need to "protect their business and their growth" at all costs. Any smaller business that forgets is doomed.
From what has been reported, Beyers had been supplying Woolworths since around 1990 and at one point Woolworths made up roughly half their business. That kind of relationship could fool you into feeling secure when you’re in it. It "feels" like there’s history and trust which is already the first warning sign in this story.
Apparently Beyers acquired a second factory which was already supplying Checkers and Pick 'n Pay. According to Beyers, this was a way to increase volumes, support mechanisation, diversify the business, and reduce their dependence on Woolworths, especially because Woolworths had already started bringing in other chocolate brands years earlier.
Woolworths apparently found out about the second factory and took issue with it. The dispute centred on exclusivity. According to Kees Beyers, Woolworths then wanted the second factory closed but Beyers refused. From a business owner’s point of view, I understand why. They had reportedly invested around R200 million and had roughly 75 employees at that second site. You don’t just switch that off because a major client is uncomfortable with you diversifying.
Then came the hammer as Woolworths reduced its orders. First by around R100 million and then by another R100 million a few months later.
When one customer carries that much weight in your business, they don’t have to “kill” you in some dramatic movie villain way. They just have to reduce orders and suddenly cash flow gets squeezed, your bank gets nervous, your options disappear, and the thing you spent decades building can start falling apart in real time.
The exclusivity issue itself is still disputed. Beyers says the exclusivity agreement expired in 2019. Woolworths apparently says it rolled over automatically. Woolworths has also said it cannot comment on the details of the relationship because of confidentiality 🤣
I want to personally remind you. Corporate companies are not people. They don’t operate on loyalty, memory, history, or sentiment in the way small business owners often do. They operate through systems, contracts, leverage, risk management and self preservation.
If you build your business around one massive corporate client, and that client decides you’ve stepped outside the lines, they will likely not sit down and ask how this affects your people, your factory, your investment, or your future.
If you take ANYTHING from this post, it's an understanding of WHAT (not who) you’re dealing with. Never forget this and play the game accordingly 🤓
