last week in review
NESTLÉ INDIA LOOKS TO CRACK PACKAGED BREAKFAST MARKET
Nestle India Ltd is looking to position itself as a complete maker of packaged breakfast products and capitalise on this growing market by drawing in millions of Indians who still prefer freshly-cooked homemade breakfast. “Nestle now becomes a breakfast company. We now have products that can be part of one’s breakfast,” Suresh Narayanan, Nestle India’s chairman and managing director, said on Monday. Narayanan was referring to the launch last month of breakfast cereal brand, Nesplus, adding to Nestle’s portfolio of coffee, yogurt, curd, oats, noodles and milk. Nesplus has placed the Swiss packaged foods maker in competition with US-based Kellogg’s which has a 30% share of India’s breakfast cereal market.
INDRA NOOYI ENDS 12-YEAR RUN AS PEPSICO’S CEO
Indra Nooyi is stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO) of food and beverage giant PepsiCo, handing the reins to a top lieutenant in a transition that will draw attention to the dearth of prominent female CEOs in corporate America. Nooyi, 62, will leave the role in October and remain chair- man until early 2019. Ramon Laguarta, 54, who has been a candidate to take over since a promotion last year to president, will be just the sixth CEO in the 53-year history of the company.
FAST FOOD CHAINS BOUNCE BACK IN JAN-JUN
The worst seems to be over for quick service restaurants (QSR) in India, at least for the time being. Recent earnings of companies operating in the segment show that fast-food chains have finally managed to overcome the stress caused by the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), lingering effects of demonetization and other challenges. In the first half of the year, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, which runs Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts outlets in India, has reported same-store sales growth—a measure of sales at outlets that have been open for at least a year—at a six-year high of 26.2%. This resulted in the company’s profit for the June quarter to more than triple.
IKEA OPENS FIRST STORE WITH FURNITURE, FOOD AND MORE IN STORE
Ikea of Sweden opened its first Indian store in Hyderabad on Thursday, a ₹1,000-crore bet that affordable furniture and assisted assembly will draw buyers in the world’s fastest-growing economy to its swanky 400,000 sq ft outlet. It has been a milestone that’s more than a decade in the making, and the company expects to welcome as many as 6 million visitors a year. The showroom has some 7,500 products, of which about 1,000 will sell for less than ₹200 each. It’s the first of 25 stores Ikea plans to open in India by 2025.