Chiquita HQ moving to CLT

back2CLT

Advanced
Jan 2, 2008
156
8
CLT
Chiquita Brands is moving its HQ from Cincinnati to Charlotte.

The main factor in the move was the airport connectivity in CLT over CVG. With DL pulling back, they had increasingly limited access to European markets where they have lots of sales contacts. Also, Charlotte has much better Latin America connections on US, where the banana farms are.

Jerry Orr and reps from US were reportedly part of the negotations to lure Chiquita to Charlotte, so it will be interesting to see if this results in increased routes to Central/South America. While a lot of their farms are in Mexicao and Costa Rica, which US covers well, they also have farms in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Ecuador, and Columbia.

Didn't US used to fly to Guatemala City?

In order of likelihood, this would seem likely to increase the chances of routes to:

Bogota
Quito
Panama City
Guatemala City

Not so likely:
Managua
Teguicigalpa (sp?)

Edit: I would still expect Lima to occur next after Bogota. Didn't the US and Columbia sign an open-skies agreement that would allow them to start CLT-BOG any time US wanted?
 
It makes sense for Chiquita to make this move, and the City of Charlotte and the State of North Carolina probably sweetened the deal to a large degree.

I doubt one company with South and Central American operations will command enough travel to influence adding all those destinations. Unless there are some contracts for a lot of freight, i.e. bananas and other produce, I doubt that CLT will see much of an expansion in South/Central American destinations beyond those already planned.
 
20 Million in State taxpayers dollars (incentives). 2 Million in local taxpayer dollars. http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/11/29/article/chiquita_moving_corporate_hq_to_charlotte
 
Panama City and Guatamela City were served through the FLL focus-city experiment. GUA was moved to CLT, but didn't last too long. I think the Open Skies with Colombia excludes Bogota, which is still restricted for a few more years.
 
I doubt bananas are shipped by air to the US - they're far too heavy, too cheap and since they're picked green and aren't chemically induced to ripen until in US produce warehouses, they aren't very perishable, so they're still shipped, railed and trucked. Not flown.

Still a coup for Charlotte.
 
Chiquita Brands is moving its HQ from Cincinnati to Charlotte.

The main factor in the move was the airport connectivity in CLT over CVG. With DL pulling back, they had increasingly limited access to European markets where they have lots of sales contacts. Also, Charlotte has much better Latin America connections on US, where the banana farms are.

Jerry Orr and reps from US were reportedly part of the negotations to lure Chiquita to Charlotte, so it will be interesting to see if this results in increased routes to Central/South America. While a lot of their farms are in Mexicao and Costa Rica, which US covers well, they also have farms in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Ecuador, and Columbia.

Didn't US used to fly to Guatemala City?

In order of likelihood, this would seem likely to increase the chances of routes to:

Bogota
Quito
Panama City
Guatemala City

Not so likely:
Managua
Teguicigalpa (sp?)

Edit: I would still expect Lima to occur next after Bogota. Didn't the US and Columbia sign an open-skies agreement that would allow them to start CLT-BOG any time US wanted?


Seems like one A319 a day to TACA's San Salvador hub and steady 757 service to San Jose would take care of things.
 
nyc is right. Unless Chiquita is going to guarantee enough traffic for a flight to be profitable (like AA's RDU-London flight), there's no sense in trying to fly any route that wouldn't make money just because they relocate to CLT.

Jim
 
If flights out of CLT to countries with the largest Banana Production being the sole criteria, US would announce service to PEK and BOM. CLT to either city can be accomplished through Star Alliance as can flights from CLT to all the Banana gtowing regions of the worls.

This is a good example of Government and Business working together in a positive way. Gotta give Doug and Mr Orr their props on this one
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
Well they are the largest grocer in the country, & I believe they are one of the largest employers in the Cincinnati area.. may as well poach the area, right???

I think they're the largest grocer that isn't Walmart (which may sell more groceries now than anyone else).

My guess is that ATL or DFW would be good places for Kroger to move if air service was the sole criteria (lots more nonstop mainline metal flights to more cities than CLT offers).
 
I think they're the largest grocer that isn't Walmart (which may sell more groceries now than anyone else).

My guess is that ATL or DFW would be good places for Kroger to move if air service was the sole criteria (lots more nonstop mainline metal flights to more cities than CLT offers).

In the grocery segment I think Kroger still reigns supreme as the big box retailers combined hold less than 14% Market share. I could find out if anyone is REALLY interested as one of my clients is SuperValu, known in PHL as Acme.
 
If flights out of CLT to countries with the largest Banana Production being the sole criteria, US would announce service to PEK and BOM. CLT to either city can be accomplished through Star Alliance as can flights from CLT to all the Banana gtowing regions of the worls.

This is a good example of Government and Business working together in a positive way. Gotta give Doug and Mr Orr their props on this one

I agree that a single company probably won't provide enough business to start any route, but if one was a possibility before, it could sway a decision. We have a code share with TACA and their hub in San Salvador looks pretty extensive on a map.
 
In the grocery segment I think Kroger still reigns supreme as the big box retailers combined hold less than 14% Market share. I could find out if anyone is REALLY interested as one of my clients is SuperValu, known in PHL as Acme.

My only source is the NY Times, which printed this in 2005:

In the last five years, Wal-Mart has emerged as a dominant force in the grocery business, selling almost twice the amount of food and grocery items as Kroger, the country's largest supermarket chain. Wal-Mart undercuts supermarket prices by as much as 20 percent but is still able to generate considerable grocery profits because of its enormous volume and huge buying power. Wal-Mart's labor costs are also lower because, unlike workers at most supermarkets, its employees are not unionized.

"Wal-Mart just keeps growing," said David B. Dillon, chief executive of Kroger, which regularly compares the performance of its stores against Wal-Mart Supercenters. "And I don't see any signs of a slowdown in the number of stores."

Wal-Mart, with 1,866 supercenters in the United States, all with grocery stores, does not break out food sales, but Retail Forward, a research firm in Columbus, Ohio, estimates that in 2004 the company sold $109 billion in groceries, taking a 19 percent share of the market. Retail Forward has projected that the number of Wal-Mart supercenters may triple by 2010 and that its share of the grocery business may rise to 35 percent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/business/06grocery.html

Looks like CLT should try to attract Walmart. :D