Danone SA CEO Franck Riboud has asked the company's top managers to present ideas for potential expansion,
the
Wall Street Journal
reported.
Riboud, who succeeded his father nearly 20 years ago, aims to complete a new strategic plan by early 2015, the article said.
The
Journal
cited an unnamed source who said, “I would be surprised if the group kept the status quo.”
The company has faced challenges in recent years from the economic crisis in Europe and a safety warning that affected its baby-formula brands sold in China, the report noted.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Danone sold non-core assets and today concentrates on fresh dairy products, baby food, water and medical nutrition, the
Journal
article said. Its market value is about €49 billion, compared with Nestlé's market capitalization of about €180 billion. Some company insiders are concerned that Danone is too small to compete, the article said.
Danone has also been cutting costs, laying off workers and shutting down manufacturing facilities, the article said. It has also in talks with Nestlé and other companies to sell its medical nutrition business, the
Journal
report said. (Source:
Wall Street Journal
, July 23, 2014.)
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