A major fruit exporter - realigning strategy and culture in a context of major political change

Capespan, a South African-based business, was in the process of moving from regulation to deregulation.

Increased competition and a consolidation of retailers, along with a major political change in South Africa, meant the company would have to take a giant leap in competitiveness.

The business needed to change its strategy in order to succeed so, with the help of Bath Consultancy Group, the top 25 leaders and board members undertook a Strategic Review.
The review led to a strategic change, which included a merger with Unifruco and the creation of “Capespan” as a brand. In order to reap benefits from the merger, the CEO recognised that there would need to be a programme of culture change throughout the organisation.

The first step was to create a shift in the thinking within the company, which had been owned by growers, from being somewhat parochial to truly global. Initially there was resistance to this change - so Bath Consultancy Group worked in partnership with HR to overcome this.
The people within the company needed to experience the “new reality” in order to change so a change agent network was created to work with teams at all levels. Events were held to shift people towards the new reality through an experiential shift. A key technique was that they were taught to think like a competitor.

As a result, Capespan stayed as No 1 exporter of fruit in South Africa and held on to its market position better than any other regulated product business after deregulation. The company became a global supplier with a total “fruit basket” concept and the change happened more effectively and with greater speed than it would otherwise have done.

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