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Easter business is an important sales date for Swiss chocolate manufacturers. Same for Läderach. However, the company suffered a loss in sales after a scandal involving its former patron last fall.
With Easter, high-sales days are just around the corner for Swiss chocolate manufacturers. Not a given for the Glarus company Läderach this year. Last fall, former patron Jürg Läderach was linked to violence and abuse at a private school he helped found. Although the allegations were not directed against the company or the current generation of management, Läderach felt the impact.
Legend: After the scandal involving ex-Läderach patron Jürg Läderach, fewer Swiss people chose this chocolate. Keystone / Gaetan Bally
“My impression is that the customers have understood that,” says CEO Johannes Läderach. He has been running the company since 2018. “We lost in the single digits in Swiss retail at the very beginning and then improved that every month. Because we are growing strongly in the other 19 markets, we are still in double-digit growth.”
The scandal surrounding Jürg Läderach’s school
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In September 2023, former students of the private school “Christliche Schule Linth” made serious allegations against those responsible at the school in a documentary film by SRF: As children in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they were punished, beaten and exposed to psychological violence been.
The allegations are also directed at the Glarus chocolate entrepreneur Jürg Läderach, who took over the “Hof Oberkirch” in Kaltbrunn (SG) in 1995 together with his companions. They have set up a Christian private school with boarding school and a free church community there.
Prosecutors question alleged victims
Jürg Läderach denies the allegations against him and says he only found out about them before the investigation, which was carried out by the school itself.
Several possible victims have reported the allegations of abuse to the St. Gallen public prosecutor’s office. It must be checked in each specific individual case whether proceedings can even be opened – or whether they are time-barred.
Customers have now become more rational, says brand expert Stefan Vogler from the Zurich School of Economics. “They noticed that there is a difference between the Läderach chocolate brand and the Läderach Senior.” Nevertheless, the company has probably lost some of its customers forever, albeit a small one, says Vogler.
Läderach escaped with a black eye.
Overall, the company would be doing surprisingly well six months after the scandal. But one thing is also clear to the brand expert: Läderach doesn’t need any more negative publicity. “CEO Johannes Läderach must now do everything to ensure that his personal reputation remains intact,” warns Vogler. Because ultimately the family name is on all products.
Legend: But nobody abroad is interested in the scandal: export sales are increasing. Imago / Lars Heidrich
Läderach wants to further internationalize
Even though Switzerland is still the most important market for Läderach, the sales generated here are falling compared to the export markets. Business at home still accounts for around 40 percent of sales. Johannes Läderach also sees great potential abroad. The first branch in France was only recently opened. A new location has also opened in Malaysia. Hardly anyone there is interested in the scandal from last fall.
Editor’s note
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In a first version of the article, the quote from CEO Johannes Läderach was abbreviated. We have clarified this.