After last week’s holiday break, the Australian FMCG sector had a busy week. A liquor giant was bought by a private equity firm for A$1 billion; A soft drinks executive moved to a new job role and Aussie supermarket pushed forward with plastic bag ban implementation.
The Carlyle Group acquired Accolade Wines for A$1bn
Australian liquor company Accolade Wines was snapped up by the global private equity firm The Carlyle Group for A$1 billion. Its majority owner CHAMP Private Equity boss John Haddock said the company saw an opportunity and the two divisions CHAMP acquired had separate strategies and separate management. He said they had to bring the two divisions together to create one business. It’s certainly a big news for the local liquor industry.
PepsiCo Australia boss Robbert Rietbroek appointed to new role
Soft drinks giant PepsiCo chief executive for Australia and New Zealand Robert Rietbroek was appointed as the new senior vice president and general manager of Quaker Foods North America in Chicago. Rietbroek was the head of the PepsiCo’s Australian business for the last 2.5 years. The soft drinks company said they will make an announcement on who will take his place. We wonder who will be his successor? We’ll keep track of this news in the next few weeks.
Woolworths pursues plastic bag ban
Supermarket giant Woolworths has announced its deadline to eliminate all of its single-use disposable plastic bags, including BWS, Metro and petrol outlets. They will stop offering free disposable plastic bags to shoppers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia from June 20, 10 days earlier than originally planned.
Woolies chief executive Brad Banducci said it is a big change for their customers and store teams so the company is doing its best to make the transition as smoothly as possible for both. Shoppers will have to bring their own bags or buy reusable bags instead when grocery shopping.
That wraps up another week in FMCG. Enjoy the weekend everyone!
