<P> In 1980 Bertram Johnson purchased the company for $730 million and by the end of 1989, it was in serious trouble . Losses that year were an estimated $50 million and sales had decreased to $470 million . By 1993, sales had dropped to $400 million though losses were reduced somewhat to $26 million . All this occurred during a period when overall per capita candy consumption in the U.S. had increased 25% . By May, 1994, Brach's moved its headquarters from the plant property to a penthouse office in one of Chicago's wealthiest suburbs, saw a loss of nearly 900 jobs (42% of the workforce at that time), and suffered a loss of key customers and market share . </P> <P> Bertram Johnson almost immediately fired Brach's top officers and gutted the leadership of its sales, marketing, production and finance departments . Some of these positions were filled with executives from Suchard's European operations; people with little experience in the candy industry (see: Favorite Brands above). Former executives cited Jacobs Suchard's autocratic management style and inability to recognize the difference between American and European candy consumption habits . The name of the company was changed to Jacobs Suchard Inc., a name few retailers or consumers recognized and product lines were trimmed from 1,700 to 400 in an attempt to cut costs . This alienated many of its largest customers, including Walgreens and Walmart, who found other sources, including Farley Candy . In addition to the cuts in product selection, Brach's also chose to curtail holiday promotional activities . </P> <P> In 1990, Phillip Morris purchased Jacobs Suchard for $3.8 billion, except for its U.S. subsidiary . A holding company named Van Houten & Zoon Holding AG was formed by Klaus Jacobs to run Brach and other businesses . Disagreements with Klaus Jacobs on marketing and management strategies continued, particularly over commodity vs. branded (Brach's) products . In 1993 alone, Brach's saw 3 different CEO's, and continued to experience a high rate of turnover and dismissals within the sales and marketing departments . Many of Brach's sales personnel left to work for its competitors . </P> <P> In September 1994, Bertram Johnson purchased the Brock Candy Company of Chattanooga for $140 million, a year in which Brock Candy had sales of $112 million and profits of $6.5 million . This was the second attempt by the two companies to join together . The first time had been while E.J. Brach's was under American Home Products ownership . The merger attempt at that time was canceled due to concerns of an antitrust suit . </P>

Did brach's candy go out of business