Chiquita Brands International

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Chiquita Brands International Inc. NYSE: [CQB] is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based producer and distributor of bananas and other produce, under a variety of subsidiary brand names, collectively known as Chiquita. Chiquita is the successor to the United Fruit Company and is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States. The company also owns a German produce distribution company, Atlanta AG, which it acquired in 2003. Chiquita was formerly controlled by Cincinnati billionaire Carl H. Lindner, Jr., his majority ownership of the company ended as a result of Chiquita Brands International exiting a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 19 2002.

The trademark logo for Chiquita was created by Dik Browne, who is best known for his Hägar the Horrible comic strip. Monica Lewis voiced the famous "Chiquita Banana" advertising campaign.

Chiquita Center in downtown Cincinnati

In the 1980's, the company (then known as United Brands) was involved in a leading Competition Law case when they were found to abuse their dominant position in the banana and fruit supply markets by the European Commission.

Cincinnati Enquirer controversy

On May 3, 1998, The Cincinnati Enquirer published an eighteen-page section, "Chiquita Secrets Revealed" on Chiquita. The articles, written by Enquirer investigative reporters Michael Gallagher and Cameron McWhirter, charged the company with mistreating the workers on its Central American plantations, polluting the environment, allowing cocaine to be brought to the United States on its ships, bribing foreign officials, evading foreign nations' laws on land ownership, forcibly preventing its workers from unionizing, and a host of other misdeeds.

Chiquita denied all the allegations, suing after it was revealed that Gallagher had repeatedly hacked into Chiquita's voice-mail system (no evidence ever indicated that McWhirter was aware of Gallagher's crime or a participant). A special prosecutor was appointed to investigate—the elected prosecutor having ties to Lindner. On June 28, 1998, the Enquirer retracted the entire series of stories, published a front-page apology, and paid the company a multi-million-dollar settlement. The Columbia Journalism Review would report both $14 million and $50 million for the amount. Chiquita's Annual Report mentions 'a cash settlement in excess of $10 million'. One of the reporters, Gallagher, would be fired and prosecuted and the paper's editor, Lawrence K. Beaupre, would be transferred to the Gannett's headquarters amid allegations that he ignored the paper's usual procedures on fact-checking in order to win a Pulitzer Prize. Chiquita has not formally challenged any of the factual claims raised in the original articles.

Bibliography

"The Business and Human Rights Management Report—Chiquita Brands International," Ethical Corporate Magazine, Nov. 2004.

"The Importance of Corporate Responsibility," Economist Intelligence Unit, Jan. 2005.

Smart Alliance: How a Global Corporation and Environmental Activists Transformed a Tarnished Brand. Yale University Press, April 2004

"Chiquita Brands: A Turnaround That Is Here to Stay," Winslow Environmental News, January 2004.

"The banana giant that found its gentle side," Financial Times, Dec. 2002

Chiquita Wins Raves for Outstanding Sustainability Reporting Greenbiz.com, April 3, 2003

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