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☆ Unilever: Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum will form the core of an $8 billion ice cream company
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The world’s biggest ice cream business is about to go it alone. The newly minted firm will boast five of the 10 best-selling ice cream brands worldwide, namely Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Walls and Cornetto. “The future growth of Unilever and ice cream is best served by separating the business,” Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher told journalists. Philippe Wojazer/ReutersThe origins of Unilever’s ice cream business can be traced back to the summer of 1913, when Thomas Wall started selling ice cream from his family butcher shop in London. But its ice cream sales took a hit last year as cash-strapped consumers cut back on non-essential spending.

Persons: Jerry’s, “, Hein Schumacher, ” Schumacher, Miko Carte, Philippe Wojazer, Thomas Wall, Matt Britzman, Hargreaves, ”, —, Schumacher Organizations: London CNN, Unilever, ” Employees, Schumacher Locations: Saint, France, London, €

☆ Unilever to Cut 7,500 Jobs and Spin Off Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Unit
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Jason Karaian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Unilever, the consumer goods giant, said on Tuesday that it would cut 7,500 jobs and spin off its ice cream unit, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, to reduce costs and simplify its portfolio of brands. The moves would make for “a simpler, more focused and higher performing Unilever,” Ian Meakins, the London-based company’s chair, said in a statement. The group’s ice cream unit generated 7.9 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in sales last year, or about 13 percent of the group’s total. The division is home to Ben & Jerry’s, which Unilever acquired in 2000, along with other brands like Cornetto, Magnum, Talenti and Wall’s. The spinoff is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Persons: ” Ian Meakins, Hein Schumacher Organizations: Unilever Locations: London

☆ Unilever’s sales decline in Indonesia because of anti-Israel boycotts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Unilever is the latest company to report a rough fourth quarter because of boycotts against the company over the war in the Middle East. The company, which makes Vaseline, Dove soaps, Rexona deodorant and other household staples, said that sales declined 15% in Indonesia in the last three months of last year. “In Indonesia, we saw double-digit sales decline in the fourth quarter as sales of several multinational companies were impacted by geopolitically focused consumer-facing campaigns,” said Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher in a call Thursday. Other companies made similar statements recently about boycotts in overseas countries. Brands, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, said its chains’ “sales were impacted by the conflict in the Middle East region with varying degrees of impact,” which dented same-store sales growth in several countries.

Persons: deodorant, ”, Hein Schumacher, McDonald’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Unilever, Consumers, Brands Locations: New York, Indonesia, Western, Gaza, “

☆ Branding’s corporate titans face moment of truth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Now for the first time this century, sales volumes at the big consumer goods manufacturers are falling. In the first nine months of the year, Kraft Heinz said the quantity of its sold items declined by nearly 6 percentage points year-on-year. That’s likely to allow Nestlé, Kraft Heinz and Unilever to see flat or modest increases in 2023 sales, LSEG data shows. Earlier this year, outgoing Kraft Heinz Chief Executive Miguel Patricio said the company lost market share to a branded competitor that spent more. Unilever, Nestlé and Kraft Heinz have all pointed to a slowing of price growth in the coming year.

Persons: Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, ’, Xavier Roger, Kraft, what’s, John Furner, Miguel Patricio, Mars, ”, François, EY, George Hay, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Consumer, Kraft, Unilever, Danone, ’, United Nations, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, Target, Reuters Graphics, Obesity, Mondelez, Walmart, “, Thomson Locations: U.S, Europe, Australia, Norway, Chocolat, London

☆ Unilever to freeze new CEO's fixed pay for two years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Shareholders rejected resolution to adopt directors' pay in MayCEO's fixed pay level to be reviewed in 2026Oct 30 (Reuters) - Consumer goods company Unilever (ULVR.L) said on Monday its board had decided to freeze CEO Hein Schumacher's fixed pay for the next two years, after his initial pay package was rejected by shareholders in May. The pay deal for Unilever’s directors, including Schumacher, was rejected at its annual general meeting with a near 60% majority. Schumacher, who took up the role in July, will not be eligible for a fixed pay increase in 2024 and 2025. The compensation committee will review his fixed pay level in 2026.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Hein Schumacher's, Schumacher, Nelson Peltz, Alan Jope’s, Anchal Rana, Devika Syamnath, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Unilever, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Consumer, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ New-look Unilever retains its old-style opacity
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Unilever logo is displayed on Dove soap boxes in this illustration taken on January 17, 2022. Back in 2017 Unilever fought off a Kraft Heinz (KHC.O) takeover approach by pledging a 20% operating margin; now there just isn’t a target. But it leaves a question mark over Unilever’s long-term direction. And it might leave long-term critics like fund manager Terry Smith still griping about opacity. In January Smith complained that Unilever had revealed the price tag on only three of 27 acquisitions in its Beauty and Wellbeing division over eight years.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Hein Schumacher’s, Kraft Heinz, Alan Jope, Terry Smith, Smith, Schumacher, George Hay, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Unilever, REUTERS, Reuters, Kraft, X, Thomson

☆ Carrefour uses 'shrinkflation' stickers to pressure PepsiCo, Nestlé and Unilever
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

French supermarket chain Carrefour has slapped price warnings on products ranging from Lindt chocolates to Lipton Ice Tea to pressure suppliers such as Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to cut their prices. Carrefour is putting stickers on products that have shrunk in size but cost more even though raw materials prices have eased. After a new round of meetings last month, Le Maire said Unilever (UL), Nestlé and PepsiCo (PEP) were among companies not toeing the line on prices. Consumer groups say “shrinkflation” is a widespread practice, which supermarkets like Carrefour are also guilty of in their private label products. The shrinkflation warnings are in all French Carrefour stores, and will last until the targeted suppliers agree to price cuts, Bompais said.

Persons: Stefen Bompais, Alexandre Bompard, Bruno Le Maire, Le Maire, Nestlé, “, Bompais, — Organizations: Carrefour, Lipton, PepsiCo, Unilever, UL, Nestlé, Reuters Locations: France, Swiss, Carrefour

☆ CFOs are stepping into a rapidly revolving door
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chief financial officers are stepping into an increasingly rapidly revolving door. loadingIn the first half of this year, 103 of the top 1,000 companies ranked by Fortune lost their CFO, according to executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. CFOs are grappling with rising inflation and interest rates – in some cases, for the first time in their careers. High CFO turnover looks far from transitory. Follow @jennifersaba on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSTesla said on Aug. 7 that its Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn was stepping down.

Persons: Elon Musk, Zachary Kirkhorn, Francois, Xavier Roger, Anna Manz, Fortune, Refinitiv, Ruth Porat, Morgan Stanley, Mike Cavanagh, NBCUniversal, Mike Lenz, Unilever’s, Graeme Pitkethly, Walt Disney’s, Christine McCarthy, James Kehoe, Crist Kolder, Tesla, Vaibhav Taneja, Kirkhorn, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, Finance, Walgreens Boots Alliance, London Stock Exchange, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Comcast, Walgreens, CFOs, Thomson Locations: Swiss

☆ Unilever quarterly sales beat estimates, boost shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoSummaryCompanies Underlying sales, price, volume growth beat forecastsPast peak cost inflation -finance chiefFocus is on volume growth -finance chiefShares jump 5%LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - Unilever (ULVR.L) on Tuesday beat underlying sales growth forecasts after again raising prices to offset higher costs, boosting shares in the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The British company reported a 7.9% rise in underlying second-quarter sales, beating analysts' average forecast of 6.4%, a company-provided consensus showed. The company said it expects underlying sales growth for the full year to be above 5%, ahead of its multi-year range, with underlying price growth continuing to moderate through the year. Unilever said the percentage of its "business winning market share" had reduced to 41%. The metric assesses what percentage of the company's revenue is coming from areas in which it is gaining market share on a rolling 12-month basis.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Hein Schumacher, Alan Jope, Jochen Kurz, Alan, Kurz, Graeme Pitkethly, Janus Henderson, Bernstein, Bruno Monteyne, Hein Schumacher’s, Richa Naidu, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Unilever, British, Kurz, Rivals, Nestle, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ The world’s biggest ice cream company says heat waves may not help sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Can it ever be too hot for ice cream? “When it gets too hot, people move away from ice cream and buy a cold drink instead,” he said. The consumer goods giant commands a fifth of global ice cream sales, according to Euromonitor. The company’s overall ice cream sales grew 5.7% in the first half of the year in value terms, compared with the same period in 2022. Price rises across Unilever’s products helped push up its sales by 9.1% in the first half, even though volumes fell marginally.

Persons: Cornetto, ”, Graeme Pitkethly, Jerry’s, Carte d’Or, Hein Schumacher, Schumacher —, FrieslandCampina — Organizations: London CNN, Unilever, UL, Health Locations: Europe, Spain, Italy, Greece, Ukraine

☆ Heineken, Unilever and Oreo maker Mondelez accused of breaking promises to leave Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It’s shameful and unethical.”Sonnenfeld, who has testified before Congress about companies leaving Russia, is not accusing these corporations of breaking the law. ‘Implied endorsement of the Putin regime’The “poster child” for this problem is the popular Dutch brewing giant Heineken, Sonnenfeld said. In March 2022, just one month after the invasion of Ukraine, Heineken won praise for promising to leave Russia. “We expect a significant financial loss to the Heineken company. The Yale research said Mondelez shows “no tangible signs of progress towards exiting” and continues to do business in Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Jeff Sonnenfeld, Philip Morris, ” Sonnenfeld, “, ”, ‘, Putin, Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian, ExxonMobil –, ” Heineken, ” Mondelez, Mondelez, That’s, Lipton, Mark Dixon, Nestle, Kit Kat, Purina, Sbarro, Carl’s Jr, Carl’s, Yale, Tim Calkins, Calkins Organizations: New York CNN Business, Yale, Heineken, Unilever, CNN, ”, Institute . Yale, BP, ExxonMobil, Nabisco, Kyiv School of Economics, Agency, Nestle, WeWork, Mondelez, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Restaurants Holdings, CKE, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, ”, American, South Africa

☆ Pro Take: Forget the SEC, International Climate Reporting Standards Could Become the Global Baseline
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

New international sustainability reporting standards could fulfill their ambition in becoming the global baseline as the advantages of using a single standard worldwide may, for many companies, outweigh the disadvantages of being more demanding than the SEC’s coming climate reporting rules. On Monday, the International Sustainability Standards Board released its initial two reporting standards. PREVIEWDespite the strong demand for one standard, U.S. and European Union officials are each developing their own climate reporting regimes. It is now up to individual countries and jurisdictions to decide if and when they will adopt the ISSB standards. Sue Lloyd, vice chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board, at the launch of the inaugural sustainability standards.

Persons: Sue Lloyd, ”, Brian Moynihan, Lloyd, Um, Lysanne Gray, Eelco van der Enden, Jean, Paul Servais, Benoit Doppagne, Iosco, Unilever’s Gray, Rochelle Toplensky, Amplifications Iosco Organizations: Sustainability, Task Force, Sustainable Business, European Union, International Organization of Securities Commissions, Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S, Wall Street, Bank of America, London Stock Exchange, Asian Development Bank, Unilever, Alignment, Global, Initiative, Belgian Financial Services, Markets, FSMA, Zuma Press, Accounting, Rochelle, wsj.com Corrections, Amplifications Locations: EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, Glasgow, Monday’s, Egypt, Africa, Asia, U.S

☆ Unilever pivots to African suppliers as forex pressure mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Seun Sanni | Richa Naidu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The war in Ukraine exacerbated supply chain logjams and manufacturing issues that began with the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing foreign exchange costs is largely what is driving a pivot to African suppliers, Unilever said, even though sourcing from the continent can cost more than buying from parts of Asia. “Over 95% of the brands we sell to our (African) consumers are made in African factories,” Reginaldo Ecclissato, Unilever’s chief business operations and supply chain officer, told Reuters. Today more than two-thirds of the ingredients that go into Unilever products sold in African markets come from the continent, the company said. Where is it on the scale of Unilever’s supply chain?” he said.

Persons: Kasali, ” Kasali, “, Knorr, Hellmann’s, Reginaldo, Tedd George, Nestle, ”, Pierre, André, Ecclissato, it’s, bouillon, Iranloye, Busari, Unilever’s Ecclissato Organizations: Reuters, Unilever, REUTERS, ” Unilever, Nestle, Danone, sorbitol Locations: ALAYIDE, Nigeria, Oyo, Africa, Ukraine, Asia, India, China, South Africa, Lagos, Oyo State

☆ Unilever’s Marketing and Digital Chief to Leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/unilevers-marketing-and-digital-chief-to-leave-4effcfb2

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ French sports deal reveals rare retail bright spot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Retreat is the most common strategy of top retail chief executives. On Tuesday, the near-$11 billion British purveyor of sportswear splashed out 520 million euros ($571 million) on French sneaker seller Courir. Regis Schultz, JD’s French boss, is planning to spend more of the company’s 1-billion-pound ($1.3 billion) cash pile on further international expansion. Sales of exercise equipment, gym wear and running shoes are set to double to $1 trillion by 2030, according to Straits Research. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Crypto-silence is precious for Gensler's SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But he has taken several enforcement actions against crypto firms alleging that they are selling unregistered securities, and the SEC is considering suing Coinbase. Think from Gensler's perspective, though, and there's little upside in breaking the silence. Accept that digital assets are not securities after all, and he would look foolish for not saying so sooner. Yet state definitively that they are securities, and Gensler would have to show his reasoning, opening the SEC up to more costly legal battles that it could lose. Complain as they may, Gensler's foes may just have to accept that sometimes, no answer is an answer.

☆ HSBC vote gives Ping An a fresh shove towards exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ping An Insurance (601318.SS) is having an underwhelming week. Instead, HSBC’s results were decent and the AGM resolution was crushed. True, 20% of votes cast went in favour of plans for a strategic review each quarter which could assess whether to spin off HSBC’s key Asian arm, and to reinstate the bank’s pre-Covid dividend. Ping An could continue to chunter away at HSBC boss Noel Quinn from the sidelines. Throw in the lack of investor support implied by the vote, and Ping An’s essential choice – to pipe down or to sell its stake – has become ever more stark.

☆ Adidas runs harder, but also stands still
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That beat analyst expectations of 15 million euros, and was aided by double digit sales growth in Latin America and Asia. The good cheer partly reflects the low expectations of Adidas’s investors. They hold shares worth about half their mid-2021 level, and while sales globally didn’t fall 4% as forecast, they still dipped 1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, CEO Bjorn Gulden has to decide what to do with stacks of Yeezy trainers in storage ever since the company severed ties with the musician. Although certain products like Gazelle and Sambo are doing well, the 40% margins on Yeezy sales were ten times Adidas’s overall level.

☆ Shopify offloads its logistics baggage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shopify (SHOP.TO) is finding that simpler is better after all. Investors welcomed the move: Shares of the company led by Tobias Lütke shot up over 20% in morning trade. Shopify wanted to build out its own logistics business, and now it's leaving that job to Flexport instead. That said, Shopify already uses partnerships with other companies to expand in hard-to-crack areas like fintech, including with payments giant Stripe and buy-now-pay-later company Affirm (AFRM.O). Although Shopify said on Thursday that first-quarter revenue rose 25% year-on-year, beating analyst expectations, Shopify's small-business customers are under pressure from rising interest rates.

☆ Nestlé Says Less Than Half of Its Main Portfolio Is Ranked as Healthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Nestlé SA promised it will work to boost the nutritional value of its snacks, drinks and food products, after most of its portfolio was rated as unhealthy. Less than half of Nestlé’s main food-and-drink portfolio is considered healthy, according to the results of an international nutrient profiling system that the Swiss food company published for the first time. Nestlé started using it last year with the aim of boosting transparency about the nutritional value of its products. “Our focus is on improving the nutritional value of our products,” Nestlé said. The rankings from the Access to Nutrition Initiative rate companies on their practices and disclosure, including on ensuring healthy products and influencing consumer choices.

☆ Unilever Tries Reformulating Its Ice Cream to Survive Warmer Freezers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Keeping ice cream at 10 degrees as opposed to zero will reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 20% to 30% per freezer, it said. Unilever’s out-of-home ice cream sales declined slightly during the fourth quarter of 2022 because, the company said, some stores unplugged their freezers sooner in the year than usual. Higher temperatures can lead to softer ice creams that stick to wrappers and slide off ice cream sticks, for example, said Andrew Sztehlo, chief research and development officer for Unilever’s ice cream division. The warming program isn’t designed to sweat competitors out of Unilever freezers, which some shopkeepers fill with an assortment of brands that don’t carry the Unilever logo, Mr. Sztehlo said. Representatives from ice cream makers Nestlé SA, Mars Inc., General Mills Inc. and Froneri International Ltd. declined to comment.

☆ Soaring energy costs triggered by war in Ukraine could push 141 million into extreme poverty, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine could push 141 million people worldwide into extreme poverty, according to a new report published Thursday in the journal Nature Energy. In low-income countries, the report said poorer households already facing severe food shortages were at greater risk of poverty due to higher energy costs. Households in higher income countries also felt the impact of rising energy prices but were more likely to be able to absorb them into household budgets, the report said. Energy price hikes caused by the crisis in Ukraine have also resulted in the increased cost of necessities like food. According to the report, many governments worldwide have already taken steps to lessen the impact of soaring energy prices on households, from reducing energy taxes and providing energy bill discounts to one-off energy subsidies and price caps.

☆ Nestlé says food prices will rise further this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Food, including ice cream, will see significant price increases in 2023, CEO Alan Jope said on the same call. Unilever said price increases caused sales volumes to decline by 2.1% in 2022. Heineken, meanwhile, said it expected to sell less beer in Europe this year because of “steep” price increases related to energy costs. At the time, Tesco (TSCDF) described the company’s price increases as “unjustifiable.” Once the products were restored, prices were unchanged on Heinz’s most popular lines. Gabby Jones/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesTesco has also “fallen out with other suppliers” over price increases, its chairman John Allen recently told the BBC.

☆ Unilever’s New Chief Faces Tough Balancing Act
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Aaron Back | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Unilever posted lukewarm results on Thursday that underscore the challenges awaiting its incoming chief executive. The maker of Dove Soap and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise said it saw underlying sales growth of 9.2% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter thanks to sharply higher prices. Pricing was up 13.3%, while volumes declined 3.6%. Outgoing Chief Executive Alan Jope said on a conference call with analysts that the company will need to raise prices even more to offset continuing cost inflation this year.

☆ Higher Prices Hit Demand for Unilever’s Soap and Ice Cream
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Peter Stiff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Unilever said sales volumes fell most in ice cream, with in-home sales in prior years boosted by pandemic lockdowns. LONDON— UnileverPLC reported a fall in quarterly sales volumes as higher prices for its soap and ice cream hit consumer demand, and warned that the trend was set to continue this year. The maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream said sales volume fell 3.6% in the fourth quarter, with declines in all its business groups, as it increased prices by an average of 13.3%. Underlying sales growth for the three months to Dec. 31 came in at 9.2%, above analysts’ expectations.

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