Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said new research released today in the ARA Retail Christmas Expectations Survey showed retailers are cautiously optimistic about trading during the holiday season, with 43% expecting sales to be the same or better than last year’s record trade. ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said the ARA Retail Christmas Expectations Survey indicated over 59 per cent of those retailers who were optimistic about the 2008 Christmas trading... ...Read more »
Australian owned and operated Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (”Domino’s”) announced at their AGM yesterday that positive same store sales growth had been recorded during the first four months of trading for 2008/09 in all markets, as their global expansion continues in earnest. Domino’s Chief Executive Officer Don Meij said markets were currently performing well given the current global economic climate. “With four months of trading already completed, group sales... ...Read more »
Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said it was optimistic the 0.2 per cent increase in September 2008 retail trade figures released today would continue the upward trend in the months leading into Christmas. According to the ARA’s Executive Director Richard Evans, the September retail trade figures will come as welcome news for struggling retailers, indicating consumers with disposable dollars are likely to inject much-needed funds back into the retail sector... ...Read more »
Unilever has posted third quarter underlying sales growth of 8.3%, as they continue to reap rewards from investing in their brands. The global consumer goods giant managed to also increase volume by 0.6% for the quarter despite raising their prices. In Australia, where their prominent food and beverage brands include Streets, Flora and Lipton, they reported a better third quarter with “good volume growth and a greater contribution from price”. “In the first nine months of the year... ...Read more »
Kellogg Company, the world’s largest cereal manufacturer, has reported third-quarter 2008 sales growing 9% to US$3.3b - driven by price increases and the trend toward more people eating at home. “The Kellogg business model and strategy continue to give us the ability to offset inflationary headwinds while hitting our targets and delivering sustainable, dependable performance in these very volatile times,” said David Mackay, Kellogg’s chief executive officer. Mr Mackay noted... ...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 »
Foster’s Group, Australia’s largest brewer, has announced that first-quarter results were in-line with expectations and advised that their wine review - originally slated for completion before the end of the year - is unlikely to be released until February. “As previously advised, we expected to complete the wine review by the end of this calendar year,” Foster’s Chairman David Crawford told shareholders at the company’s AGM. “However, we have taken the decision... ...Read more »
McDonald’s, the world’s largest hamburger chain, has announced a global sales increase of 7.1% for the third quarter despite the recent economic turmoil. The strong results have led some, including Chief Executive Jim Skinner, to label the fast-food giant as ‘recession-resistant’. With such strong results it is hard to dispute the claim, although one suspects that any further weakening in the global economic climate would have begin to have some impact. For starters, it is... ...Read more »
Nestlé, the world’s largest food group, has announced growth of 3.4% beating forecasts and causing the Swiss-based company to enhance their full-year expectations. The growth came as they strengthened their position as a health & wellness company, gained greater traction in key developing markets and saw premium brands increase their market share. Their food and beverages division, which includes the Milo, Nescafé, Kit-Kat and Lean Cuisine brands, was credited as the driving force behind... ...Read more »
Woolworths, Australia’s largest supermarket operator, has today announced record first quarter sales of $12.8 billion, representing a 9.6% increase on last year. The growth of just under ten per cent surpassed the expectations of analysts ABN Amro, who anticipated growth of around 8.4%. Woolworths’ Chief Executive Officer, Michael Luscombe, believes the results were very positive for the company as they seek to deal with changing economic conditions. “This is a good start to the... ...Read more »