Saputo developing a new line of full desserts
Canada’s largest snack cake manufacturer, Saputo Inc. (TSX:SAP), is preparing to introduce a new line of products, including healthier offerings and full desserts, in a bid to boost the division’s lagging sales. “What we need to do in order to increase the sales in this division is to come up with new products in different channels or different categories,” company CEO Lino Saputo Jr. said in an interview Tuesday after Saputo released strong quarterly results.
The producer of popular Vachon brands Jos Louis, Ah Caramel, Passion Flakie and May West has recently added Hop&Go and Igor offerings to attract the more health conscious and younger consumers. The new line to be introduced by the end of the fiscal year is currently undergoing development and consumer testing.
GM extends factory shutdowns in U.S. and Canada
General Motors Corp. has decided to extend the temporary summertime closure of seven factories including its car plant in Oshawa, Ont., because widespread temporary shutdowns will not be enough to control a burgeoning supply of some models, the company said Tuesday.
GM spokesman Chris Lee said the company will add up to four weeks to temporary shutdowns at the Detroit-Hamtramck; Lansing, Mich., Grand River; Orion Township, Mich.; Oshawa; Lordstown, Ohio; Shreveport, La.; and Spring Hill, Tenn., assembly plants. The closures might not be the end of GM’s efforts to keep inventory down because of the slumping U.S. auto market, Lee said Tuesday. The latest round of closures, announced at the factories this week, range from one added week at the Oshawa factory to four additional weeks at the Lansing Grand River plant. Most of the factories will go down for three added weeks in July