Case Study on Thorntons plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Case Study on Thorntons plc - Essay Example By 1939, Thorntons had 35 shops all over England and a factory in Sheffield that baked confectionery products. The firm's profitability and expansion continued such that in 1988, it was listed in the London Stock Exchange. Thornton family members were involved in the management of the business until the resignation in August 2006 of John Thornton, the last family member on the Board. Thornton family members, however, continue to hold a 22 percent stake in the company. As of the end of its fiscal year on 25 June 2005, the company had 395 stores, 198 franchise outlets, and 26 Cafs all over the U.K and Ireland, over 4,200 employees, an annual turnover of 188 million, and net profits before tax of just over 8.15 million (Helmscott, 2006). The company is based in Thornton Park, a 65-acre site in Alfreton, Derbyshire. Thorntons is one of the key players in the candy and confectionery industry, a sub-sector of the global food and beverages industry consisting of companies that manufacture, process, package, market, and/or sell candies and confections, including chocolate and chewing gum. Business Insights/Datamonitor (2005) reported that the global confectionery sector had an annual turnover of 122 billion growing in value at 3.9 percent yearly. The biggest group in the sub-sector are companies that sell chocolate confectionery products, which accounts for 53.8 percent of total turnover value, followed by sugar confectioneries, sweets and candies (32.8 percent), and gum (13.4 percent). The U.K. confectionery market, one of the biggest in the world, had total sales of 4.53 billion in 2005 growing at approximately 4 percent each year. A few companies led by Cadbury Schweppes, Mars, Nestl, Kraft, and Wrigley dominate in the U.K. market. Thorntons (188 million in sales) is in sixth place, followed by Barry Callebaut, ADM Cocoa Hull, Dunhills (Pontefract), and Renshaw Scott (with a turnover of 58 million) (Swetenhams, 2006). Characteristics of the Confectionery Industry Sector The confectionery sector had its heyday in the 1970s, as sales trebled whilst food expenditures doubled in the decade. By the late 1980s, annual sales growth slowed down to 2 to 3 percent, characteristic of a mature industry. The market in the early to the late 1990s was therefore becoming saturated whilst manufacturers continued to expand production and retail outlets to match what was until then perceived as booming demand. The 1980s also saw a wave of acquisitions that produced two industry giants: Cadbury Scweppes and Nestl. Confectioneries are non-essential foodstuff but are regularly purchased by a very high proportion of the population as an indulgence, a gift, or a

2012 Movie Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

2012 Movie Critique - Essay Example The movie, that was released on November 13, 2009, has been produced by Harald Kloser, Mark Gordon and Larry Franco, and the executive producers include Roland Emmerich, Ute Emmerich, and Michael Wimer. Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser, and starring some of the very talented actors of the time, John Cusack, Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover, 2012 takes us to an exotic ride where our minds give birth to many questions and enjoy the discovery of many answers at the same time. The synopsis section of Sony Pictures Digital Inc. (2010) states that, â€Å"Never before has a date in history been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, scientists, and governments. ‘2012’ is an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.† This report tends to critically analyze different elements of the movie. The thesis statement is that t he Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry can expertly and creatively interpret science, history and archeology to produce an astounding artifact that can excite the whole population making them defer their skepticism for some time. Let’s explore the movie and its filmic elements to find out how much the movie collaborates with our thesis statement. Storyline Critically analyzing the storyline, it must be said that it is quite asinine. However, the disaster scenes are hilarious. The story begins with Dr. Adrian Helmsley, who belongs to an international geophysical team, examining the effect of radiation from exceptional solar storms on earth. During his investigation, he learns that the earth’s temperature is rising. He informs the President about the earth’s conditions and warns him that if he does not take proper measures to stop the anticipated damage, the whole mankind will be ruined with the disaster that is expected to come with the heating up of the earth. Jackson Curtis, a writer, comes up with the same information after he meets Charlie Frost on his camping trip to Yosemite. Charlie Frost is shown preaching that the world is heading towards its end as predicted by the Mayan calendar. World’s leaders from industrialized countries are shown building four massive arks with billions of Euros to save their wealthy families from the approaching disaster instead of thinking about common people. They have no idea how their arks will survive the doom if the catastrophe is the prophetic prediction. No sooner than later, strong volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and sun storms converting into tsunamis, surround the planet creating havoc all around the humankind. The movie ends showing the recession of the tsunamis merging all continents. The survivors include Adrian, Laura, Jackson and his family. Acting The cast of 2012 contains some of the best actors that have made the story look like real. The cast includes John Cusack as ' Jackson Curtis', Amanda Peet as 'Kate Curtis', Chiwetel Ejiofor as 'Adrian Helmsley', Oliver Platt as 'Carl Anheuser', Thandie Newton as 'Laura Wilson’, Danny Glover as 'President Thomas Wilson', Woody Harrelson as 'Charlie Frost', Tom McCarthy as 'Gordon Silberman', Liam James as 'Noah Curtis', Morgan Lily as 'Lilly Curtis', Zlatko Buric as 'Yuri Karpov', Johann Urb as 'Sasha', Chin Han as 'Tenzin', and Beatrice Rosen as 'Tamara'. Since, the movie focuses more on the disaster and the pulsating catastrophic scenes, the acting comes at a secondary position. While watching the movie, we actually do not care what the rate of acting is. We focus more on the