Sealord has finished negotiations with Foodstuffs North Island and accepted a proposal about its frozen fish category.

Sealord was not able to meet Foodstuff’s margin requirements, therefore the number of Sealord products in Foodstuffs North Island will decrease by around 50-70% in mid-November. Sealord’s frozen fish range of around 24 products in New World and Pak n Save supermarkets in the North Island will go to between 4 and 11 products depending on the store.

Sealord CEO Doug Paulin says while this was not Sealord’s preferred outcome, he respects Foodstuffs North Island’s decision to commercially negotiate the best offer for its business.

“This has a significant financial impact on the Sealord business, and sadly, we are now reviewing our field sales structure in the North Island,” he says.

“We do not anticipate there will be redundancies in our Coated factory in Nelson, as we are looking into sales opportunities for our frozen fish products overseas.”

Our full range will continue to be available in Countdown nationally and Foodstuffs South Island. We will let our loyal customers know where they can continue to purchase their favourite New Zealand frozen seafood products on our website by mid-November.