Industry News

BLAIR SPEEDY The Australian June 22, 2012 WINE industry veteran Wolf Blass has attacked supermarket majors Coles and Woolworths for slashing returns for winemakers and called for an industry-wide levy to promote Australian wine overseas. “The biggest risk in the domestic market is the catastrophic duopoly controlling 60 per cent of our market,” said Mr Blass, whose eponymous brand is now owned by Treasury Wine Estates. “It is a situation where there is no profit to be made, and if there is no profit there is no money for development.” Mr Blass, who now works as a brand ambassador for TWE, promoting the Wolf Blass label at home and abroad, said the company needed to do more to support independent retailers and restaurants to help maintain a profitable market for its own products in the face of cut-throat discounting by the supermarket majors. “We have to protect the independents and…

Jun 21, 2012 CSNews NEW YORK — Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is developing three new products, one of which is a cigarette that poses lower health risks to users. The cigarette, which heats tobacco rather than burning it, will be ready by 2017. The three products would be sold under the existing brands like Marlboro. PMI’s COO Andre Calantzopoulos revealed the development news in a speech prepared for a meeting today with investors in Lausanne, Switzerland, according to Bloomberg. “We are on the eve of what we all believe could be a paradigm shift for our industry,” CEO Louis Camilleri said in a speech. The new products have “the very real potential to not only be a game-changer, but also be the key to unlock several hitherto virgin territories, most notably the huge Chinese market.” The “most promising” of the lower-risk products would heat tobacco or generate aerosol that…

Natasha Bita, Consumer editor The Australian June 25, 2012 THE supermarket price wars have forced one of Australia’s biggest dairy companies back to nature. Milk from Dairy Farmers and Pura Milk will no longer be made with additives known as permeates, in what food and beverage giant Lion described yesterday as “milk’s greatest transformation in 100 years”. Lion’s external relations director, Libby Hay, yesterday said customers did not want unnecessary processing. “We have listened to our customers,” she said. “We looked at our manufacturing process and realised that adding permeate was not essential, so it was an easy decision to remove it from our milk.” Permeate is a watery by-product of milk, often mixed back into milk to ensure consistent levels of fat and protein. The decision to omit permeate will give Dairy Farmers and Pura Milk a marketing edge in the supermarket price wars. Branded milk products have been…

John Durie The Australian June 25, 2012 THE ACCC appears to be preparing for another possible test of its powers to counter the expansion of the big two supermarket chains, this time in the hardware market. Late last week, the ACCC again delayed consideration of the proposed Woolworths takeover of Ballarat-based hardware group G Gay & Co pending the receipt of further information. G Gay owns three hardware stores in the Ballarat area under the Home Hardware banner. Woolworths, through its Lowe’s joint venture, is planning to open a Masters store in the region. The ACCC’s concern is that Woolworths is taking out a competitor as it sets up a big-box store in the Victorian regional centre. There are two Bunnings stores in the region. In a recent speech in Sydney, ACCC chairman Rod Sims made it clear he was targeting the big two supermarket groups and cited hardware and…

June 20, 2012 Retail Customer Experience.com There have always been two “shelves” in retail. The first can be found in the retail store and is where the product is most often evaluated and ultimately purchased. The second shelf is in the consumer’s home and is where trial usage takes place and with any luck, loyalty and advocacy built. For the last several centuries, marketers have spent all of their time, money and energy understanding how consumers behave in front of these two shelves. However, there is now a third shelf that marketers need to get their heads around quickly. The third shelf is the precise place, moment or opportunity, outside of the store or the home, where the consumer can consider, interact with or even buy your products. It’s now up to marketers to decide where this shelf (be it physical or virtual) is to be built for their products.…