Word: productivity
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...about to follow the radical--and financially successful--example of one of Nestle's main rivals, the Anglo-Dutch Unilever group. Unilever has taken a machete to its operations over the past three years, cutting the number of its brands by half to focus on 400 key products and shutting 83 of its 250 manufacturing facilities. Those efforts have widened its operating margins by 45%, and its earnings per share were up 27% last year, despite the sluggish economy. During Brabeck's tenure, Nestle has closed 156 factories, but it has acquired or opened 183 new ones, increasing the total...
...undervalued--and is trying to broadcast that message. Soon after he was appointed chief financial officer last year, Wolfgang Reichenberger solicited analysts and investors for suggestions on what Nestle could do better, and the company has started publishing more detailed financial information, including sales-growth figures for some individual product categories...
...then he was back in Switzerland, in charge of marketing. When CEO Helmut Maucher began redefining Nestle's product and branding strategy, he leaned increasingly on Brabeck. He even took to calling Brabeck Suslov, a joking reference to Mikhail Suslov, notorious chief ideologist of the Soviet Communist Party. The new product strategy involved grouping all Nestle products under six global brands, including Nescafe, Nestea and Nestle itself. Once it was launched, Brabeck grew restless and asked to be sent back into the field. Maucher was then in his mid-60s and close to retirement. Brabeck technically reported to the chief...
...formula is different almost everywhere. A Russian Kit Kat is a fraction of an ounce smaller than a Bulgarian one, and the chocolate is coarser and not as sweet as that in a German Kit Kat. In Japan, strawberry-flavored Kit Kat is all the rage. Each of these product variations is the result of thorough market research on local tastes. "There is no global consumer for the food-and-beverage business. This is a deep belief we have," Brabeck says...
...industry. But Dietrich Mateschitz founded a company in his native Austria that has changed the way young people party around the world. Red Bull, the champion of hypercaffeinated energy drinks, posted sales of $1.5 billion last year, 70% of the global market. He credits a thirst for "antiauthoritarian" products. His sponsorship of ultrasports like street luge and winter surfing has tapped a vein of young male consumers. Mateschitz, a climber and snowboarder, wants to promote a product and a lifestyle. "Extreme sports are more than a marketing tool," he says. At this month's Red Bull Giants of Rio Challenge...