Annual Report 2010 - Melitta

16 Melitta MelittaUnternehmensgruppe Group Annual Report Geschäftsbericht 2010 2008
Following economic crisis consumers turn
increasingly to discount products
The economic and financial crisis continued to impact
our markets in 2010 and led to greater price sensitivity
among consumers. The main beneficiaries were private
label products and discounters. Brand manufacturers
found it difficult to compete in this environment, especially
since the launch of initial premium concepts for
private label products.
Adverse climate for branded products
Cofresco Freshkeeping Products Europe felt the consequences
of growing price sensitivity among consumers
in 2010. We were unable to generate significant growth
in either the food wrapping or garbage bag categories.
There was even a fall in demand in some cases, caused
in part by cyclical stocking effects.
An increasing number of sales promotions for retailers’
own brands also had a noticeable impact. They led to a
decline in the proportion of our own campaigns in the
three core markets: Germany, France and Spain.
In addition to price pressure from the trade, rising raw
material costs placed an additional burden on business
which could not be fully compensated for. There were
Dirk Löhmer
CEO
Cofresco Freshkeeping Products Europe
positive signals from France, however, with the launch
of a new TV campaign for our garbage bag range.
We used 2010 to enhance the self-selling ability of our
products off the shelf with the launch of eye-catching
new pack designs aimed at differentiating our range
more clearly from private label products. We aim to
make further improvements to our value chain by
modernizing our production facilities and introducing
changes to our processes and organizational structure.
Outlook 2011: Sales growth driven by
extensive market campaigns
We expect consumer price sensitivity to remain high in
2011, which will once again benefit private label products.
Nevertheless, we plan to raise sales revenues with a
host of measures. We will rejuvenate our Toppits ® and
Albal ® brands, streamline our product lines, and launch
a new product campaign in the second half of the year.
Investments in classic communication as well as social
media platforms will strengthen our brands in the core
markets of Germany, France and Spain.
As Europe’s leading brand manufacturer with over 70
million households as customers, Cofresco will focus on
the topic of food waste in 2011. Approximately 25 per-