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12 <strong>Melitta</strong> <strong>Melitta</strong>Unternehmensgruppe Group <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> Geschäftsbericht <strong>2010</strong> 2008<br />
Economic fluctuations slow business<br />
development<br />
The diverging development of our markets continued in<br />
<strong>2010</strong>. Whereas the economies of certain western<br />
European countries were quick to recover, the states of<br />
eastern Europe continued to suffer from the effects of<br />
the financial and economic crisis. Certain export markets,<br />
including China and South Korea, have since<br />
returned to stability and are becoming increasingly<br />
interesting for our business. All in all, sales were up<br />
slightly on a similar basis of the previous year but still<br />
below expectations.<br />
Focus on business concentration<br />
We used the past year to focus more sharply again on<br />
our main business initiatives. Against this backdrop,<br />
we sold our Gameo ® business in Sweden – our<br />
Scandinavian brand for vacuum bags and accessories. In<br />
order to strengthen our competitiveness, we also merged<br />
filter bag conversion in France with our main site in<br />
Germany. In addition, we developed key strategic parameters<br />
for the future use of our paper mill in Berlin<br />
during the past year. Our new production facility for<br />
filter coffeemakers and electric kettles in Shenzhen<br />
(China) has now successfully overcome its initial difficulties<br />
and easily exceeded its targets over the course of<br />
the year.<br />
Jan Van Riet<br />
CEO<br />
<strong>Melitta</strong> Household Products Europe<br />
There were further shifts in the product portfolio of the<br />
strategic business field “Coffee Enjoyment” in <strong>2010</strong>.<br />
Traditional filter coffee is increasingly being replaced by<br />
other preparation systems, resulting in a decline in<br />
European sales of filter papers. However, these changes<br />
have also led to the growing popularity of our attractive<br />
range of fully automatic coffee machines. The launch of<br />
the Caffeo CI in fall <strong>2010</strong>, for example, surpassed all<br />
expectations. We also succeeded in establishing new<br />
products in the “electric kettle” category.<br />
The products of our strategic business field “Convenient<br />
Cleaning” operate in a highly competitive environment.<br />
Despite the strong competition, however, we fared very<br />
well in this segment during <strong>2010</strong>. Our continual product<br />
enhancements are now paying off. We enjoyed considerable<br />
success, for example, with biofilm and eco garbage<br />
bags made from recycling material in our Swirl ® garbage<br />
bag range. Our long-term commitment to improving<br />
product quality was also recognized by industry<br />
experts: our Swirl ® Airspace vacuum filter bags were<br />
voted Top Brand of <strong>2010</strong> by a major trade journal. Our<br />
new range of products for cleanliness in pet households<br />
was also well received by consumers.
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