Dutch-based consumer products giant Unilever has reported strong volume growth in the fourth quarter, albeit at lower prices, with sales for the quarter rising 1.8% on an underlying basis and 3.5% for the full year. Volumes rose 5% during the fourth quarter and 2.3% for the year. The maker of Streets, Lipton and Dove products said a more efficient supply chain assisted margins and also helped improve on-shelf availability of their products. “We made good progress in challenging market conditions,”... ...Read more »

The Consumer Goods Forum has advised that Jean‐Marc Saubade will take on the role of Managing Director, effective January 4, 2010. Saubade comes to The Consumer Goods Forum* – a leading consumer goods network with senior management from 650 leading industry players – after stints in senior management positions at Cadbury and Kraft Foods. Following the creation of The Consumer Goods Forum in June 2009, the Board of Directors assigned a taskforce with the search of a Managing Director... ...Read more »

For retail and consumer-products companies, most of Asia continues to present growth opportunities, albeit at a slower rate in the short term, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers report, Glimmers amid the gloom. At the same time, markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Latin America will contract. “Well before the current global economic malaise, multinationals had been shifting strategy to concentrate on emerging markets because that’s where the growth was coming from,”... ...Read more »

A new report from America has highlighted the key changes in shopping rituals that present both opportunities and threats to food and beverage firms. The latest IRI Times & Trends Report, “Price Promotion & Merchandising: The Reinvention of CPG Marketing,”recommends a number of strategies for both manufacturers and retailers to capture the attention of the ever-demanding consumer. “There is no question-consumers are looking for value,” IRI Consulting & Innovation... ...Read more »

Baby boomers are shifting their grocery purchase patterns as they approach retirement age, according to new research from the US where – like Australia – baby boomers represent a significant proportion of the population. The latest IRI research, “Baby Boomers II: Preparing for the Upcoming Wave of Aging Shopper Growth,” examines the broad range of baby boomer lifestyle changes and identifies top-indexing food and non-food categories, recession-driven shopping patterns and... ...Read more »

Some of the world’s leading retailers and manufacturers in the consumer goods sector have united to create a global trade and industry body, which will develop common positions on key issues affecting the consumer goods industry. Named The Consumer Goods Forum, the range of members is a who’s who of the sector with combined sales of EUR 2.1 trillion (A$3.6 trillion). Manufacturers of the likes of Procter&Gamble, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Kraft join retail behemoths Wal-Mart,... ...Read more »

The current recession has created a new niche of consumers identified as the “Downturn Generation”, who are likely to have a major impact on the consumer packaged goods sector. The research, “Dissecting the Downturn Generation: Recognising and Leveraging Permanence in Today’s Transformational Economy,” by Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), has found a new generation of Americans adopting practices similar to Depression-era shoppers and similar responses could be expected... ...Read more »

An ageing population can no longer be ignored by the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector, with a new approach needed to attract the lucrative market, according to a new series of reports from independent market analyst Datamonitor. Traditionally, Young Adults have been the key target demographic, but marketers must adapt in order to maximise the huge potential of the Seniors market, their research found. “The ageing of populations globally is an issue that will increasingly shape both society... ...Read more »

Leaders of consumer goods companies are losing confidence in their ability to boost revenues in the current climate. The figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers Annual CEO Survey highlight a reduction in CEOs’ optimism – with 27% of consumer goods leaders ‘very confident’ about boosting their companies’ revenues over the next 12 months, compared with 50% of respondents to PwC’s survey last year. The survey of 130 consumer goods leaders indicates that the industry... ...Read more »

The world’s largest consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble, saw volumes drop as the downturn began to have an impact on their business in the December quarter, a possible sign of the impact of private label. Procter & Gamble’s heightened prices helped shield them from major revenue declines, however. “As expected, this was a particularly challenging quarter,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer A.G. Lafley. “Despite this, we grew organic sales two per... ...Read more »