Unilever Australasia is in the process of a reorganisation, designed to reduce costs and strengthen their connection with consumers, according to just-food. The restructure will involve the cutting of 90 jobs across a wide range of departments. The affect of which is expected to be dampened by their earlier decision to freeze recruitment. “Unilever Australasia is undergoing organisational changes to achieve the ambition of moving from a good business to a great one,” a Unilever spokesman... ...Read more »

Kraft Foods Inc. has announced positive third-quarter 2008 results as the company executes its three-year turnaround plan. Strong organic net revenue growth of 7.1 per cent was, in part, driven by pricing actions to offset significantly higher input costs. Pricing contributed 8.4 percentage points, but an unfavorable mix reduced net revenue by 0.4 percentage points and volume was down 0.9 percent - reflecting the impact of significant cost-driven pricing actions. “Kraft had a strong quarter... ...Read more »

Wesfarmers, Australia’s largest employer and owner of Coles supermarkets, has announced that the market share of Coles has begun to stabilise as initiatives to transform the business continue in earnest. The company reported a net profit of $1,050 million for the 2007/08 financial year, an increase of 33.6% on last year due, in part, to the integration of Coles Group. “The acquisition of the major businesses of Coles, Target, Kmart and Officeworks has materially expanded Wesfarmers’... ...Read more »

Constellation Brands, Inc., a leading international beverage alcohol producer and marketer, has announced that Constellation Wines Australia (formerly Hardy Wine Company) will sell certain assets and implement changes to its wine portfolio and production footprint. The changes are being made to “simplify the business and provide better focus on premium brands and operational efficiencies aimed at increasing long- term profitable growth and improved returns”. Constellation plan to sell... ...Read more »

Coca-Cola Amatil Limited announced yesterday that they will consolidate their Victorian SPC Ardmona operations. The announcement follows a comprehensive review of its SPC Ardmona operations in the Goulburn Valley, which was initiated “in light of the continued impact of the drought and the need to better manage the Australian fruit intake”. The review determined that there is excess capacity in the Shepparton and Mooroopna plants in the Goulburn Valley and, consequently, the deciduous... ...Read more »