Maggie Beers suffers devastating blow after year of hell

Maggie Beer’s very difficult year, which included health problems and ongoing grief over the death of her daughter, has taken a turn for the worse, with her company recording a loss of $28.2 million.

In August, Ms Beer was rushed to hospital after a fall at her Barossa Valley home left her with broken bones and bruises.

At the time, a family member wrote online that Kol, her husband, was there and she was now in excellent hands with doctors who were confident she would make a full recovery. This may take some time.

Earlier this month, the celebrity chef, 79, posted a video on Instagram showing she was slowly recovering and hoped to return to normal life soon.

Ms Beer is also mourning the death of Saskia, the eldest of her two daughters, who died unexpectedly in her sleep in February 2020 aged just 46.

“Nothing will help you survive the dampness. Nothing,” she said last year. “Nobody wants to go through this.

“The help is to understand that you can never get over grief, but it comes with you and you move on and eventually find joy again.”

Maggie Beer Holdings, the gourmet food company of which she is a director, has lost its chief executive Kinda Grange and chief financial officer Craig Louttit in recent months.

And now the company has announced a massive annual loss of $28.2 million.

The company said it would write down the value of its Paris Creek milk and yogurt business by $4.6 million and was considering selling it along with Hampers & Gifts, an online operation for which it paid $40 million in 2021.

The huge loss came despite sales revenue rising 0.8% to $89.3 million in the 12 months to June 30.

Sales growth was even higher for the Maggie Beer range of ice cream, cheese, cooking stock and pates, which grew by 6.3%.

Financial losses resulted from write-downs of Hampers & Gifts, Paris Creek and legal costs.

The company’s shares have fallen heavily over the past two and a half years, falling from 58 cents in February 2022 to just 6.4 cents at the end of last week.

During this time, the company’s total value fell by almost 90 percent, from $200 million to $23 million.

Graham Hughes, from Griffith University in Brisbane, said the losses occurred despite Maggie Beer Holdings “has a strong brand reputation and a loyal customer base”.

“Potential reasons for this struggle include over-diversification, high costs, operating in a niche market and increased competition from both established brands and new entrants to the specialty food market,” Mr Hughes told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.

He said the company’s expansion into new areas such as lifestyle and gardening products “may have weakened its focus on its core specialty food offerings.”

“Additionally, high prices for Maggie Beer products at a time of declining cost of living could limit the company’s market reach and leave it vulnerable to an economic downturn.”

Mr Hughes said while the Australian specialty food market was growing, “it remains a niche segment, which could make the company’s revenue stream subject to fluctuations”.

Company chairman Sue Thomas admitted the results were disappointing.

“Maggie Beer Holdings is fully focused on returning the business to profitability and capitalizing on our two largest assets,” she said, referring to its “iconic Australian brand” and Hampers & Gifts.

Despite the enormous value placed on the company, Hampers & Gifts’ goodwill value – the value of the business’s reputation, branding and customer loyalty – fell by $13.7 million, according to accounts published on Friday.

This year the company settled a legal dispute with former owners over payments, the Australian Financial Review reported.

The company previously tried to sell its milk and premium dairy products business to Paris Creek Farms, but was unable to get a high enough price.

Ms. Grange, who was CEO for 17 months before stepping down on Aug. 13, argued that Paris Creek Farms could become much more efficient over time.

Under her leadership, Maggie Beer Holdings sought to expand its business into lifestyle, entertainment and gardening products.

Two weeks after she left two months ago, the company also announced that Mr. Louttit had also resigned as chief financial officer.

Ms Beer was paid $157,104 to serve as the company’s brand ambassador for the 12 months to June 30.

The business, which she started in 1979 with a store next to her Pheasant Farm restaurant in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, was sold to Longtable Group in two deals in 2016 and 2019.

In July 2020, Longtable Group changed its name to Maggie Beer Holdings “to better reflect the company’s core brand,” the company said at the time.

For now, however, Ms Beer is more focused on regaining her health.

“The support I’ve received from the entire community across Australia, as well as friends and family, I’ve been so grateful and overwhelmed,” she said in an Instagram video last week.

“I’ve come such a long way but I underestimated the severity of the injuries, so while I want to tell you how good I feel now, I still have a way to go.”