This week, just-food was kept busy with news from the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, held in Florida. Presentations were made from the likes of Kellogg, PepsiCo, ADM and Campbell, many of whom took the opportunity to summarise 2011, their achievements and address any issues the last 12 months had thrown at them. Elsewhere, results continued to roll in, and talk of a potential purchase of the baby food business of pharma giant Pfizer has continued. Here is a selection of who said what this week.
“We remain open minded about the best way for us to help children around the world improve their relationship with good food” – Ella’s Kitchen said it is “open-minded” about how to grow worldwide
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“We invested in price in the fourth quarter and will continue to do so through this fiscal year, so we can pass savings on to customers” – Bill Simon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart’s US operations, pointed to the benefits of Wal-Mart’s pricing strategy
“We do not expect our operations to cover these incremental costs and, as a result, we anticipate full-year 2012 net earnings per share to be down year-over-year, with more pressure in the first half of the year” – Loblaw executive chairman Galen Weston warns that it expects investments in supply chain and market positioning to dent its financial performance this year
“It’s very difficult to pinpoint a real specific issue as to why that sharp slowdown post Thanksgiving. “Our best stab at a rationale is probably the cumulative impact of pricing that has taken place across the last six to nine months has finally had its full impact on elasticity” – ConAgra Foods CEO Gary Rodkin has warned that the pressure on volume sales in the US is being felt across the industry
“We want to leverage the global alignment that we have put in place and grow it further, leveraging our position with customers and technologies and continuing to focus on emerging markets and product capability to support the growth objectives of the organisation” – Of Kerry Food’s 2012 objectives, CEO Stan McCarthy said that it would look to “optimise its scale” and “grow its capabilities”
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By GlobalData“While 2011 was a good year for Arla, the last quarter showed slight pressure on performance, reflecting a deteriorating business environment in Europe, which has continued into 2012” – Arla CEO Peter Tuborgh believes 2012 profits will be “on par” with last year
“There is no morality in it. That is an old fashioned word. They don’t care that they are putting people out of work or on wages that tax payers have to subsidise” – Sam Vickers of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers union blasts Morrisons over Fresh Del Monte closure
“We will see a much more creative, lean, nimble organisation, fewer management levels” – Archer Daniels Midland chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz claims its decision to cut over 1,000 jobs will create a more “creative” organisation
“Taken together these acquisitions, backed by Kerry’s market leading technologies and R&D capabilities, create a powerful flavours force in the region” – Kerry Foods on its acquisition of South African firm FlavourCraft
“We are still exploring options. These could include – but are not limited to – a sale or spin-off of the business” – a spokesperson for drug-maker Pfizer on the potential sale of its baby food business
“Shoppers will demand more personalisation. They’ll expect communication, promotions and deals to be tailored to their individual values and needs” – Anne Bordier, director of customised research for IGD talks about “stores of the future”
