Away from the World Retail Congress, Mars Inc made its first move into Fairtrade, spice maker McCormick & Co. said it would increase prices to offset commodity costs and the sale of ailing Irish retailer Superquinn was cleared. Click on the links for more.
“We’re very excited to work with Fairtrade on ways to enable commodity certification to scale across the entire industry” – Barry Parkin, Mars’ global chocolate vice president, on the company’s decision to move its Maltesers brand to Fairtrade.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“I don’t think we can see ourselves as competitors. Our schemes come from very different origins, they focus on trade and we focus on land use, and they are both credible schemes and monitoring systems” – Mercedes Talló, director of sustainable value chains at The Rainforest Alliance, does not believe the organisation is in competiton with Fairtrade.
“We felt that we were at a point where we didn’t have a choice because of the increased costs, and our customers have understood that” – McCormick & Co. chairman, president and CEO Alan Wilson insisted the spice company needed to increase prices to offset commodity costs.
“We will apply our considerable expertise to help stabilise a business that has been greatly challenged by the changes in the market place in recent years” – Musgrave Group CEO Chris Martin believes fellow Irish retailer Superquinn will benefit from his company’s ownership.
“Sorry. The ACCC has done nothing. In fact, they have allowed and supported Coles and Woolworths getting bigger” – Kate Carnell, chief executive of The Australian Food and Grocery Council, believes the country’s competition watchdog has not protected suppliers operating in a concentrated retail market.
“We believe the company has an obligation to this town. The Cromer Crab Company should remain in Cromer” – Ivan Crane, regional officer at the Unite union, insists UK seafood processor Young’s Seafood should keep its subsidiary in the English town.
“We are still opposed to compulsory bag charging because we think its important that you engage customers on the environmental agenda rather than alienate them” – a spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium expresses concerns over the Welsh Government introducing a 5p charge for bags.
“Del Monte Fresh Produce is pleased to communicate that we were able to reach an amicable resolution with the Food and Drug Administration resulting in the rescission of the import alert” – a statement from the fruit giant after it reached an agreement with the FDA.
“The programme is to show the consumers our efforts on food safety” – a Carrefour China spokesman on the French retailer’s plan to open its food testing laboratory in Shanghai to the public.
