This week the FMCG sector has seen some big headlines. Take a look back at what happened on Inside FMCG.
Coca-Cola Amatil declared a special dividend
Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) unveiled a special dividend for its shareholders funded by the sale of SPC, its canning business in Victoria. The company also announced its statutory net profit rose 6.3 per cent to $168 million for the half year.
CCA managing director Alison Watkins said that by the end of 2019, the company will mark the completion of its two-year transition period. “We’ve set ourselves the target of a return to mid-single digit EPS (earnings per share) growth from 2020. While there’s more to be done, these results show good progress towards that goal,” she said. Meanwhile its Australian Beverages arm is improving sales while New Zealand had an excellent performance.
Woolworths to launch garden collectables next month
Supermarket giant Woolworths has unveiled a new sustainable collectable called Discovery Garden, to follow its Ooshies collection from the Lion King. A spokesperson for Woolworths said that it is launching Discovery Garden in September, “a new collectable designed to give Australians of all ages the opportunity to grow their very own fresh food”. The green campaign was inspired by Little Garden which ran in New Zealand’s New World supermarkets.
Art Simone donned collectables couture for Little Shop 2
Supermarket rivals Coles and Woolworths hosted a swap day last weekend for collectables fans. Coles’ Little Shop fans gathered at 50 Coles stores while Woolworths ran swap day at all of its stores. Woolies spokesperson told Inside FMCG that they had a second swap day for Lion King Ooshies “to give customers another opportunity to complete their collection alongside other members of the community which was met with great delight”. Coles had Melbourne drag artist and unofficial ‘Queen of Little Shop’ Art Simone take part, donned in a collectables-inspired outfit for the occasion with a colourful headpiece decorated with minis.
Kaufland acquired third Queensland site
Kaufland Australia has bought its third Queensland site, at the Morayfield Village Retail Centre in Brisbane, situated in direct competition with Coles, Woolies and Aldi. Earlier this month Kaufland announced that it was making its first foray into the Toowoomba region in southern Queensland and at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. A spokesperson for the retailer told Inside FMCG that they are committed to a “long term, sustainable investment in Queensland”.
Mondelez ad banned over gender stereotyping
Confectionery giant Mondelez UK’s TV ad was banned due to new advertising rules on harmful gender stereotyping introduced in Britain earlier this year. The Advertising Standards Authority received 128 complaints about an ad for Philadelphia soft cheese. It featured two dads who were distracted by food in a restaurant and abandoned their babies on a conveyor belt serving buffet food. Consumers said the ad perpetuated a “harmful stereotype” by suggesting that men are incapable of caring for children.
That’s it for this week. Inside FMCG is back on Monday morning!
