Jupiter Drawing Room in Cape Town has been notified that as of the end of January, Woolworths will no longer be doing business with them.

Woolworths, one of the largest advertising accounts in Cape Town, gave notice to Jupiter on the 29th of November that it would be moving all of its advertising in house. In terms of their contract with Jupiter, the notice is in line with their two-month period, and the contract will formally be coming to an end on the 31st of January.

The agency is now expected to undergo heavy restructuring, with the potential loss of more than 20 current employees. In terms of an agreement with Jupiter, Woolworths will not be allowed to poach any of Jupiter’s Staff, but the agency has said that it will be willing to forego this if it means that employees would remain in a job. The retrenchment deals are estimated to cost Jupiter over R1 million – from their own pockets.

The move to an in-house firm by Woolworths is suspected due to international pressure and fallout from the current situation in Europe. Woolworths was with Jupiter for five years, and it’s adspend with the firm was estimated at R104 million a year.

[Source: BizCommunity]