Author: Xiaoshidai Integration.
Today's takeaways
Walmart will further increase the intensity of its investment in Suzhou
Olé wants to boldly and quickly promote cooperation with high-quality shopping malls
Hollyland launches a new pet baking brand
Nestlé decided to cut the 54-year-old product that had been sold in the UK
Pre-made dishes and Chinese New Year's Eve dinner sparked an online debate
Coca-Cola Spiced" new products will hit the shelves.
The latest company news
Olé wants to boldly and quickly promote cooperation with high-quality shopping malls
Today, according to the official WeChat account of China Resources, the leaders of China Resources Group went to various places to investigate and express condolences to front-line employees. Among them, Deputy General Manager Lan Yi and his entourage went to the grassroots stores and workshops of China Resources Vanguard, China Resources C'estbon and China Resources Wufeng in many places to investigate and comfort front-line employees and inspect safety production work. He asked Olé to boldly and quickly promote cooperation with high-quality shopping malls and continuously expand the market scale. At the Chengdu Xinjin factory of China Resources C'estbon, he inspected the construction of the second phase of the Xinjin factory project, and encouraged the majority of Cestbon employees to stick to the original intention of the brand, abide by the bottom line of safety, polish the "golden signboard" of Cestbon quality, and contribute more to a new level in the new year. (Company Release).
Hershey disclosed that it was laying off employees
Today, Hershey disclosed that it was laying off employees at a cost of up to $60 million, but the number of layoffs was not announced at the same time. The chocolate producer expects its full-year sales and profit to fall short of expectations. Hershey also said it is rolling out a new productivity program to improve the best chain and manufacturing-related spending, optimizing sales and general and administrative spending, so as to achieve long-term cost reduction and efficiency improvements. While Hershey has raised prices several times over the past two years to address cocoa, sugar and labor costs, Hershey has slowed the pace of price increases to protect margins from rising imported costs and a stronger dollar. In the fourth quarter of last year, the company's organic sales volume fell by 66%。(Reuters).
Nestlé decided to cut the 54-year-old product that had been sold in the UK
The classic breakaway stick, once a staple in British school lunch boxes, has now been decided to be cut by Nestlé. On social **, fans in the UK have expressed regret about this. A Nestlé spokesperson said that from March, breakaway will no longer be produced to make way for investment in other products. According to reports, in the past few years, Nestle has found that the sales of breakaway have declined, so it has to make the difficult decision to stop selling. The spokesperson added that Nestlé UK will launch a large number of new products this year. Last year, the Caramac stick, which had been sold in the UK for more than 60 years, was also discontinued by Nestle. （bbc）
McDonald's Japan expects a record-breaking net profit
Today, McDonald's Japan announced that it expects a consolidated net profit of 27 billion yen (equivalent to 1.3 billion yuan) for the fiscal year ending December 2024, an increase of 7% over the previous fiscal year. Although raw material costs and labor costs will remain high, the price increases for Big Mac and other products implemented in January will succeed in boosting profits. The company expects sales to increase by 6% to 406 billion yen. The consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ended December 2023, announced on the same day, showed that the company's net profit for the period was 25.1 billion yen, an increase of 26% from the previous period, and sales were 381.9 billion yen, an increase of 8%. (Nikkei).
Yum Brands will have more than 60,000 stores worldwide this year
Yesterday, Yum Brands reported quarterly net profit and revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations, and the company said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had affected its sales. In 2024, the company plans to achieve some important milestones in its global footprint: it will have more than 60,000 stores, including more than 30,000 stores for KFC and more than 20,000 stores for Pizza Hut. （cnbc）
Investment and financing
Walmart will further increase the intensity of its investment in Suzhou
Yesterday, Liu Xiaotao, Secretary of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee, met with Zhu Xiaojing, President and CEO of Walmart China. Zhu Xiaojing said that thanks to Suzhou's first-class business environment, Wal-Mart's projects in Suzhou have developed well. Zhu Xiaojing also said that Walmart will further increase the density of investment in Suzhou, deepen cooperation with Suzhou in cross-border e-commerce, first-class chain, energy conservation and carbon reduction, and work together to promote the quality and upgrading of consumption and help the development of the real economy. (Suzhou**).
Sunner's acquisition of the equity of Cargill's protein business in China was announced
From today, Fujian Sunner Development Co., Ltd.'s acquisition of the equity of Anhui Sun Valley Food Technology Co., Ltd. will be publicized as a simple case of concentration of operators. According to the public announcement table, the sum of the market shares of all undertakings participating in the concentration is less than 15% in the same relevant market. Last year, Sunner announced that the company and Liao Junjie, the company's director, deputy general manager and secretary of the board of directors, planned to transfer % of Sun Valley's equity from Dehong Yuxi (Tianjin) Equity Investment Partnership, with a consideration of 24.5 billion yuan, 1625400,000 yuan. Anhui Sun Valley Food Technology Co., Ltd. was formerly known as Cargill's protein business in China. In May this year, Cargill transferred Cargill's protein business in China to DCP Capital. Since then, DCP Capital has set up Anhui Sun Valley Food Technology Co., Ltd. as its controlling shareholder. (Official website and interface of the State Administration for Market Regulation).
Starbucks is in talks for a franchise in Alshaya
Today, Reuters, citing "people familiar with the matter", said private equity firm Apollo Global is in talks to acquire a minority stake in Starbucks in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, where Starbucks stores are currently operated by Kuwait's Alshaya Group. It is said that the group intends to **30% of the equity; In addition, Saudi Arabian investment **pif is currently involved in acquisition talks. (Reuters).
Danone revises plans for the expansion of its mineral water plant in the UK
Recently, Danone revised its plan to expand its Harrogate mineral water plant in the UK, with the main change being the addition of a 2-acre field for planting trees and opening it to the public. A local city council committee approved a plan outline for Danone's expansion in 2017, but it was opposed by community groups. This objection persists. （harrogate-news）
R&D and innovation
Hollyland launches a new pet baking brand
Recently, according to Hollyland's official WeChat, Hollyland launched the group's new pet baking brand "Holiland Pet Pet Cake". It is reported that the brand is not sold in Hollyland's offline stores, and will be sold simultaneously on Tmall*** and WeChat mini programs from February 20, and SF Express can provide free shipping in most parts of the country. (Company Release).
Nescafe launched a co-branded gift box from Dunhuang Painting Institute
Yesterday, according to Nestle China's official WeChat, the Nescafe Alcohol Black Coffee Dunhuang Painting Institute co-branded gift box was officially launched, including mellow black coffee, coffee mate and other products. (Company Release).
Coca-Cola launches its first "forever flavor" new product in years
Yesterday, Coca-Cola announced the launch of a new "Coca-Cola Spiced" product, which it says will combine traditional cola with raspberry and spice flavors, and will be available in both whole and zero sugar flavors when it hits the shelves in the United States and Canada in the coming weeks. Sue Lynne Cha, vice president of marketing for North America at Coca-Cola, said the flavor was chosen because it "keeps up with category trends and responds to consumer preferences." Coca-Cola's research found that consumers are more willing to try flavored beverages, with raspberry flavors being selected more than 5 million times on its free-mix vending machines in 2022, she said. According to reports, the Coca-Cola Company often takes inspiration from these machines to develop new flavors. "Consumers are looking for bolder flavors and more complex flavor profiles. This is a trend that we're starting to see in food and beverage, and I think we have unique room to play. She said. （cnn）
Louis Dreyfus Company unveils a new corporate videoToday, Louis Dreyfus Company released its new corporate promotional video for 2024. (Company Release).
Industries at a glance
Pre-made dishes and Chinese New Year's Eve dinner sparked an online debate
In the days leading up to the Spring Festival, pre-made dishes and Chinese New Year's Eve sparked a debate on the Internet. Some e-commerce platforms have advertised pre-made dishes for Chinese New Year's Eve. Some netizens believe that pre-made dishes will make the preparation of the Chinese New Year's Eve meal much easier. But there are also those who believe that they don't want pre-made dishes on their Chinese New Year's Eve table. According to a report released by iiMedia Consulting, pre-made dishes have become one of the top ten types of Chinese New Year gift boxes for the first time, with 2691% of the respondents chose to buy pre-made dishes as New Year's goods. (surging).
The condiment industry is said to be coming out of the doldrums
A few days ago, according to Ping An**'s research report today, the current catering industry continues to recover, the cost has entered a downward channel, and the condiment industry is coming out of the trough and returning to a period of stable development. The benefits of adjustment and innovation of most enterprises in the trough period have gradually become prominent, and diversified consumer demand has further promoted the growth of the industry. (Interface).
For the second year in a row, U.S. spirits sales outpaced beer and wine
The U.S. spirits industry maintained its market share advantage over beer and wine for the second year in a row last year, according to the latest data. According to the annual economic report of the American Distilled Spirits Council, U.S. spirits revenue increased only slightly by 02% to $37.7 billion. Although the industry has less total revenue, its sales are 04% and 261%。However, the rapid rise of ready-to-drink cocktails has been a bright spot for investors. （cnbc)
Internet+Alibaba will consider slowly exiting its traditional brick-and-mortar retail businessYesterday, Ali executives revealed at the earnings conference, "We still have some traditional brick-and-mortar retail businesses on our balance sheet, and these are not our core focus." It is also very reasonable if you can complete the exit. However, Alibaba executives also said that given the current market conditions, the exit will take time to materialize. In the first nine months of fiscal 2024, Alibaba has completed $1.7 billion in non-core assets** and has established a dedicated team for listed companies**. (Finance Associated Press).Alibaba's workforce fell by 5,695 in three months
Yesterday, Alibaba said that as of December 31, 2023, it had a total of 219,260 employees, a decrease of 20,000 or nearly 10% from the same period last year. In comparison, as of September 30, 2023, Alibaba had 224955 employees. In the three months from October to December, Alibaba reduced its employees by 5,695. (Big Fish Finance).
Xiaolongkan founder Meituan Live
Recently, Wu Dong, the founder of Xiaolongkan, was a guest in the Meituan live broadcast room to talk about the development process of Xiaolongkan in the past year. Meituan data shows that in December last year, Xiaolongkan's sales in Meituan's live broadcast room increased by 216% month-on-month, and the write-off rate of related orders reached 45%. (Upstream News).