Mondelēz International will move its global headquarters from the Chicago suburb of Deerfield to a new site in the city’s West Loop.
The snacking and confectionery giant plans to move into a five-storey building under construction in the West Fulton Market neighbourhood, the Chicago Tribune says. It will relocate around 400 employees from its existing site in Deerfield, Illinois – a northern suburb of Chicago – in April 2020.
The building will cover more than 77,000 square feet in total, with up to 20,000 square feet on each floor. According to real estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield, the office block would set tenants back between $33 and $35 per square foot per year, meaning Mondelēz’s 15-year lease could cost more than $40 million.
The site is less than 200 metres from Google’s offices in the city and minutes from Morgan Station, on Chicago’s pink and green subway lines.
According to the Chicago Tribune’s reporting, the neighbourhood was once home to Chicago’s meatpacking industry and is now emerging as a popular destination for residential and office space.
Mondelēz’s CEO Dirk van de Put said: “We sought a location that reflects our new, dynamic and more consumer-centric growth culture, and which will make existing and future colleagues proud to be working at the global headquarters of a $26 billion dollar global snacking leader. Fulton Market is an exciting part of the city of Chicago that has acquired a well-deserved reputation for world-class food. We’re privileged to be part of this rapidly-developing scene.”
Van de Put, a former CEO at McCain Foods, only took over as CEO a year and a half ago following the resignation of Irene Rosenfeld.
He has delivered the business to year-on-year revenue growth in all but the most recent of its past four quarters.
But despite a 3.7% dip in revenue in the third quarter of 2018, Mondelēz recorded net income of $1.19 billion, 21.9% stronger than the same period the year before.
It is due to announce its results for its fourth quarter of 2018, as well as its full-year results, on 30 January.
By Alex Clere
Source: FoodBev
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