FERGUSON and Plarre family bakeries have flourished across Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs since 1901, surviving bushranger robberies, the Great Depression and even a wartime shortage of fresh cream that threatened the moistness of the renowned sponge-cakes. But the partnership between the two families is now crumbling.
Plarre family lawyers filed documents in the Supreme Court yesterday to wind up the company, saying the relationship with the Fergusons had curdled.
The $9 million company has come a long way since its dual beginning, when Eliza Ferguson began selling cakes out of her Swanston Street restaurant and Otto Plarre started his Moonee Ponds bakery.
According to the business history, it was Otto who infamously baked dozens and dozens of hot cross buns on Easter Friday 1912, only to find that it was a public holiday and everyone had done their shopping the day before.
Bushrangers robbed the Ferguson’s horse-drawn cart near Merri Creek, Brunswick in 1918, three years before they bought their first T-Model Ford delivery truck to take goods from their bakery in Sydney Road to suburban shops.
The families joined forces in 1980 and sprinkled more than 50 franchised outlets across the state. This year, basking in 21st-century success, the bakehouses secured the rights to make cupcakes with decorations from video game Angry Birds.
But as affidavit by lawyer Leon Zwier on behalf of Plarre’s Cakes states: ”Over the years there has been a breakdown in the relationship between the Plarre family and the Ferguson family.”
It said the directors, including Steven Plarre, who runs the baking side of the business, and Ken Ferguson, who runs the retail side, had not met as a board since June last year.
Decision-making had “stalled”. Disagreements centred on issues including “whether to distribute or re-invest retained earnings; the conduct of senior employees; and the overall strategic direction”.
Attempts over the past 18 months to resolve the conflict had come to a ”deadlock”, the documents said, and ”a complete separation, was seen by both the Fergusons and the Plarres as a viable solution”.
But a resolution could not be negotiated and the Plarres are now seeking to have the venture sliced up.
A point of contention is expected to be a Keilor bakery, which was leased to Ferguson Plarre by Plarre’s Cakes, the family company.
The bakery chain, which is a major advertiser on Fairfax Media’s radio station 3AW, has more than 52 stores and was valued in December by Ernst & Young at between $6.9 million and $9.4 million.
