Sara Lee has announced a further step toward their plan to focus on food and beverage products with the sale of the air care business to consumer products giant Procter & Gamble. The binding offer of €320 million (A$524 million) was accepted earlier this month by Sara Lee as long as certain, unspecified conditions are met. In fiscal 2009, this business generated annual sales of approximately €260 million. “The proposed sale of our air care business is the next step in our plan to focus... ...Read more »

Wesfarmers, one of Australia’s largest companies and owner of the Coles Group, has reiterated their belief that the Coles acquisition will prove a great buy in the long-term. The underperforming Coles business has begun to show signs of life in the past couple of quarters as the new management team drives efficiency improvements. And, while they are not yet where they want to be, the conglomerate is adamant that their five-year plan is right on schedule. “I do want to reaffirm the Board’s... ...Read more »

The Managing Director of Coles, Ian McLeod, has today informed investors of the improvements made at Coles as the company continues to see momentum in their business gather steam. Speaking at an investor briefing in Sydney today, Mr McLeod said that food & liquor sales rose 7.3 per cent in the first quarter, with comparable sales up 6.1 per cent. The news comes in the same week that major rival Woolworths reported food & liquor sales rising 7.8 per cent and comparable store sales 5.8 per... ...Read more »

Kraft Foods is confident that their turnaround strategy will position them for strong growth in coming years, with or without Cadbury. The maker of Oreo and Vegemite began a corporate overhaul soon after the appointment of Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld in 2006. This has seen a renewed focus on key markets and a pruning of underperforming brands. And Ms Rosenfeld is adamant that the strategies put in place are working and will see them make ground on their competitors. “We’re now poised... ...Read more »

Sara Lee has reported a binding bid of almost A$2.2 billion (€1.275 billion) from consumer products giant Unilever to acquire its global body care and European detergents businesses. Sara Lee announced plans to divest the business, which includes brands like Radox, earlier this year to allow for a heightened focus on their food divisions. They are still looking for a buyer on the remainder of their household care division. The proposed transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions... ...Read more »

Wesfarmers has reaffirmed to investors that the Coles turnaround is progressing as planned in their annual shareholder review. Chairman Bob Every said that, long-term, the company was confident that the oft-maligned Coles business could match it with the best retailers in the world, not just Australia. “It has been particularly pleasing to see the Coles, Kmart and Officeworks turnarounds gathering momentum,” he told shareholders. “The opportunity for Coles is not simply to move... ...Read more »

Wesfarmers has announced a net profit after tax of $1.535 billion – up 44 per cent – as their Coles turnaround gathers momentum. The WA-based conglomerate, owner of the Bunnings and Coles Group stores as well as coal and fertiliser assets, said that their supermarket chain had met expectations with increasing customer numbers and basket growth. Managing Director, Richard Goyder, believed the result was strong given the economic conditions that confronted the group throughout the year. “At... ...Read more »

Coles owner Wesfarmers has advised that the turnaround is progressing as planned and is expecting improved trading conditions in the coming year, as global economic data shows signs of recovery. Chief Executive of the conglomerate, Richard Goyder, said today that growth at their Coles supermarkets would be broadly in-line with the strong results seen in the retail sector. Last week, supermarket market leader Woolworths reported strong fourth quarter growth of 7.9 per cent in their food and liquor... ...Read more »

Coles has announced the hiring of Tony Buffin as their new Chief Financial Officer. He will claim the position vacated by Terry Bowen when he moved to the position of CFO of Coles owner Wesfarmers. Mr Buffin joins the Coles business from his position as Executive Vice President and Managing Director of loyalty management firm Groupe Aeroplan. He had previously held the role of Chief Financial Officer at the company before taking over the MD role. His knowledge of loyalty programs could prove invaluable... ...Read more »

Ian McLeod, the Managing Director of Coles, is craving faster progress but has maintained that the supermarket chain is on track in their five-year turnaround. “I always would like to be progressing faster, but I think you have to recognise that this is a very significant turnaround which will take time, so on the basis of where we would expect to be at this stage in the turnaround, we’re on track and we’re making encouraging progress, but we’re at the start of what’s... ...Read more »