This week, it was revealed that Nestle is in talks with Chinese confectioner Hsu Fu Chi, while on the retail front, South Africa’s Pick n Pay revealed plans to make more than 3,000 people redundant. The fight over control of Brazilian retailer CBD continued with Casino, Carrefour and the Diniz Group all trading barbs. Here’s the best of what was said this week:
There are very few national brands. [Hsu Fu Chi] is well-established in lower-tier cities. It has brands across China. It’s in both modern and traditional channels. It’s a good opportunity from that perspective” – Dave Hofmann, a director for business consultancy InterChina Consulting explains why Nestle would be considering taking a stake in Chinese confectioner Hsu Fu Chi.
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“This process is unrelated to Wal-Mart’s entry into South Africa but is rather about addressing our ability to compete effectively. Failure to do so will result in contraction of the business and result in a non-sustainable business for the future” – Pick n Pay operations director Neal Quirk denies its plans to make more than 3,000 staff redundant has anything to do with Wal-Mart’s entry in the country.
“Carrefour’s hostile attitude is made plain by the fact that Carrefour conducted secret talks for months to capture control of CBD. If Carrefour had no hostile intention towards Casino, it would have clearly informed Casino – as the largest shareholder in CBD, exacting joint control of the company – of its project” – Casino continues its battle with Carrefour and fellow shareholder, the Diniz Group, for control of Brazilian operator CBD.
With all the global multinationals, they’ve had two years of experience in other markets, whereas in the US we were starting with a cold start. They’re starting with two years of very good experience” – PureCircle CFO William Mitchell on why he expects rapid take up of sweetener stevia after it is expected to be approved later this year.
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By GlobalData“While it’s true that McKenna’s heritage is in finance, she should by no means be dismissed as a bean-counter. Obviously, some finance personnel have made a mess of running retailers but I don’t think McKenna will be one of them.” – Kantar Retail director of insights Bryan Roberts on the appointment of former finance director Judith McKenna as COO of Asda.
“Suppliers are still feeling they can’t use it because there isn’t that enforcement body there to back them up” – Helen Rimmer, food campaigner at Friends of the Earth on why there have not been many complaints under the UK Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
“Thursday’s events raise the question of whether his continued presence is becoming a liability amongst investors, suppliers and customers. We think Premier should consider an interim leadership structure, with Chairman Ronnie Bell becoming Executive Chairman for a period and Chief Operating Officer Tim Kelly acting as interim CEO.” – Investec analyst Martin Deboo on whether current chief executive Richard Schofield should leave the company.
“The new rules are supposed to provide more and better information to consumers so they can make informed choices when buying. But it is more than that: the food industry should benefit too. There should be more legal certainty, less bureaucracy and better legislation in general” – German MEP Renate Sommer on the European Commission’s plans to change how food is labelled in the UK.
“The analysis of information from the French and German outbreaks leads to the conclusion that an imported lot of fenugreek seeds, which was used to grow sprouts imported from Egypt by a German importer, is the most likely common link” – EFSA confirms the source of the E. coli outbreak that killed some 50 people.
“We must increase efforts to communicate the standards and quality of European agricultural products to consumers. EU programmes of this kind are an effective way of helping our producers in an increasingly competitive world.” – European Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos describes the strategy behind the EUR15m fund to promote fresh produce hit by the E. coli crisis.
