Unilever takes tough measures

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch powerhouse, in fast moving consumer goods takes drastic measures in order to improve their financial performance. Over the next four years the company is planning to reduce the 179,000 strong workforce by 20,000 workers. This reduction is part of a Unilever plan to reduce cost by EUR1.5 billion before 2010.

Not only will the company reduce the number of workers, Unilever is also considering selling of some of its activities that have less potential in terms of value growth. The North-American laundry care brands are top of the list to get sold, but other activities are also earmarked for sale.

In the Netherlands it is rumoured that at least 140 workers will have to leave as a result of the decision to merge the separate Dutch and Belgian marketing and sales departments into one single organisation.

Danone about to take over Dutch food company Numico

French food company Danone has announced it wants to take over Dutch food Company Numico. Numico is mainly active in baby food and clinical nutrition. The company has a reputation for its highly advanced knowledge of speciality nutrition and therefore is an attractive target for Danone. With this acquisition Danone could improve its position in foods and beverages with added nutritional value.

Both companies have declared that they are making good progress with the preparations for the recommended public Offer. The intended offer price is € 55.00 in cash per ordinary share. The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board of Numico unanimously support the offer of Danone. The shareholder meeting will take place at the end of September.

The acquisition of Numico is made possible by the sale of the biscuit activities (mainly LU).

Philips enters partnership with Swarovski

Dutch consumer electronics giant Philips has entered a new partnership with Swarovski. The company has been working on integrating consumer electronics into clothing for some time now as it believes it is an important growth market for the future. By partnering with the fashionable Swarovski crystal company, Philips hopes to hit the right note with sophisticated female consumers. The two companies have created a range of fashionable, but technologically advanced accessories such as earphones, and USB-sticks.

The picture shows a USB-stick called Heart Beat that doubles as a necklace. The USB-stick has 1 gigabyte of memory. The products are distributed through consumer electronics retailers and Swarovski stores.

It will be interesting to see how this partnership will work out for Philips. In the past the company has been criticized for being good at product development, but lacking the competencies to market products worldwide. Analysts point out that other electronics companies have been more successful in creating a hype, the obvious example being technology company Apple.

New loyalty programme Heineken called Club BeerTender

Heineken announced that it will launch a new loyalty programme for its Dutch BeerTender consumers. Another popular Heineken brand, Amstel already is using this type of programme called SuperPingels. This Amstel programme revolves around football. Club BeerTender, is a free membership and at first new members will receive a so called silver membership. This will give them product discounts and Heineken accesories. They also get easier access to special Heineken sponsored events. Consumers can upgrade to a Gold membership which will get them even more perks.

Marketing manager Floris Cobelens explained in Adformatie magazine that the market for BeerTender had reached a new level of maturity. This means a change of focus in marketing efforts from reaches new users to improving loyalty with existing users.

Very interesting development. Is the BeerTender concept in other countries ready for this type of approach? Will direct competitors Philips and Inbev, introduce a rival Club?