C&C must get ‘back to basics' on brands, says CEO of Bulmers firm
'I think it is an indication that we need to love what we have got a bit more first,' he told the Sunday Independent.
'I think the criticism, as you suggested, is valid. I don't think we have done anything of any material nature to stretch the brands we have got, to develop them to bring customers and consumers anything new and exciting.
'It doesn't need to be strategically earth-shattering, just stretching Bulmers and Tennent's,' he added. 'These are brands that can carry innovation, that can carry new things into the market, that can carry limited editions. They just need a bit of 'new news'. We need to keep them fresh and at the centre of consumers' minds.'
White said the UK-listed drinks group had a strong balance sheet capable of making acquisitions. However, this was not his 'primary objective' at the moment, with the current focus on improving what C&C already owns.
'I think it would be stupid of me to say that we are definitely not doing anything because we have got the financial capacity, and if the right thing comes along that creates the right amount of value for shareholders, then it is incumbent on us to fully review it,' he said about acquisitions. 'But it is not our primary focus.'
White was speaking after C&C released its results for the year ended February 28. While revenue was flat at €1.66bn, pre-exceptional operating profit jumped 29pc to €77.1m, with Tennent's and Bulmers securing market share gains.
The positive results come after a turbulent period for C&C. Last year, the Bulmers maker's former CEO, Patrick McMahon, stood down following accounting errors at the company. Shareholder Engine Capital also called for a sale of the business, describing it as a 'perennial underperformer'.
White said C&C's results for the year were 'solid rather than outstanding' as the business looks to bounce back from previous problems.
'I think this is a bit of a recovery year,' he said. 'We are happy that we put in a solid, resilient performance across the group. It is good to see customer service levels across our business recovering, giving our customers increased levels of support.
'My focus is really on simplification, focusing on execution, getting everybody focused on their customers and trying to get hold of what are great brands and make them even better by developing them and bringing something new to customers in all our markets. Something that is valuable to them, tangible and will improve all their businesses.'
Asked what the market could see C&C do with its brands, White said some examples could include enhancing its low and no-alcohol offerings and bringing 'excitement and interest both in the liquid and the packaging to bear'.
Magners, the UK equivalent of Bulmers, is currently undergoing a revamp in the market. White said this would include a new marketing campaign, refreshed packaging, and improving the zero-alcohol proposition 'in the short term'.
'I don't think there is any particular rocket science,' he said. 'It is just giving the brand the love it needs.
'It is a brand with lots of equity. So consumers know the brand, they recognise it, and there is no awareness issue with it. We just need to move it back up their purchase intent. That is about getting front of mind and reminding people what is great about the brand.'
C&C also owns the Five Lamps lager brand in Ireland, which has been marketed as a Dublin-brewed craft beer-style product.
The craft beer industry has undergone its own challenges in recent years. How will C&C enhance the Five Lamps brand?
White said there was 'work to do'.
'We need to be really clear how we are going to support and get behind some of these smaller brands like Five Lamps. I think the product is good.
'If I was brutally honest, I don't think there has been a particularly well-thought-through plan of how we are going to grow and develop some of these smaller brands.'
Following last year's calls from Engine Capital for C&C to sell some of its assets, the drinks group struck a deal with the US-based activist investor that would see it appoint a new non-executive director.
I've still got to fully understand how the business all works, how it all fits together
White said there are no reviews about selling brands.
'As far as I'm concerned, we have got a clean slate. From my point of view, that is why I took this job. I've still got to fully understand how the business all works, how it all fits together, what we can do with our brands and how we can create value over the long term for shareholders.
'I would say I have plenty of work to do to get my head around that. But, we are focused on the basics just at the minute.'
Looking to the year ahead, there appears to be some optimism around C&C, reflected in its share price jumping by over 3pc in London at one stage following its results announcement.
We have had a nice few weeks of weather, which always makes you feel a little bit better
White, who was the boss of Irn Bru maker AG Barr, is well-versed in leading a business through a period of transformation. He is now looking forward to working on his plan, no matter the challenges that come his way.
'We have had a nice few weeks of weather, which always makes you feel a little bit better about life,' he said.
'It has been an encouraging start to the year. But, we are still very conscious that hospitality in all geographies is tough.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Welsh Rugby Union defends plans to halve number of professional men's teams
The Welsh Rugby Union has recognised the 'hurt and anger' caused by their proposal to reduce the number of professional men's sides in Wales from four to two, but insisted maintaining the status quo is not the 'right thing' to do. Welsh rugby's governing body has produced a radical plan to turn around the game at both club and international level, outlining its ambitions in a 90-page consultation document entitled 'The Future of Elite Rugby in Wales'. There will be a six-week consultation period before the WRU makes a final decision on the plans, and WRU chief executive Abi Tierney has urged people to 'improve on the proposals' and provide 'something fit for purpose for Welsh rugby'. The WRU's proposal to halve its number of four men's professional sides – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – to two will be the biggest talking point in a document which outlined four potential models for the game in Wales. READ MORE It remains unclear whether the two future sides being proposed will be new entities or existing teams, but the two organisations will each have a men's and women's team. Tierney said: 'This is a momentous day for Welsh rugby. No decisions have been made, but we feel based on the analysis this is the strongest (option) yet. 'I know how emotional rugby is in Wales and people will be hurting today, when they think what it could mean potentially for them and their team. 'I recognise the hurt and anger people are going to be feeling. Change is hard and this is hard for fans. 'But fans' numbers drop has also not been a great experience for anybody, and we want to create an experience they can be proud of. 'What we were doing and keeping doing for fans was not the right thing. I would encourage everybody to imagine how exciting it could be and take that step into the future.' The WRU proposal comes amid Ospreys plans to move into a redeveloped stadium at St Helen's in Swansea for the 2026-27 season and the Scarlets having recently unveiled new investors. Dragons said this week elite professional rugby must continue in Gwent, while Cardiff are currently owned by the WRU having gone into administration in April. It is possible the WRU will face legal action from regions that could essentially be put out of business, with WRU chairman Richard Collier-Keywood saying 'two or three areas of potential legal challenge' exist. The WRU has also proposed the creation of a national campus at a site yet to be decided, which would be the home of the men's and women's professional teams, as well as Wales' national sides and the union's academy. Players were briefed on the WRU's plan on Tuesday and Dave Reddin, the new director of rugby and elite performance, is confident suggestions of possible player strike action will not materialise. Reddin said: 'The national campus would be a radical departure and doing something different, a defensive moat for Welsh rugby and creating a competitive advantage. 'We've got to look outside the box if we want to try and do things differently. 'Be brave enough to to lead sometimes and do things that no one else is doing. Do things that people think are a bit nutty, too different or too uncomfortable.'
Irish Independent
13 hours ago
- Irish Independent
The Indo Daily: Secret messages, codewords and a phone smashed with an axe – The Irishman caught in 'biggest corporate espionage case of the century'
Earlier this year a spy trail of secret messages, codewords and a phone smashed with an axe unfolded in front of the High Court in an extraordinary tale of alleged corporate espionage. The story of Dublin man Keith O'Brien made international headlines when his employer, a major US HR services firm, set a 'trap' to identify how confidential information was being leaked – and the saga is not over yet. His 13-page confession was read to the High Court, where he told how he spied on his multinational employer for a rival for a fee of over €5,000 a month. That is, until he was caught. In an affidavit filed with the High Court, Keith O'Brien, who was global payroll compliance manager of Rippling, said he was induced into spying and passing sensitive company information to the CEO of rival US firm Deel Inc. The admission was disclosed during an application to join Deel, its French chief executive Alex Bouaziz and two solicitors working for Deel – Italian national Andrea David Mieli and UK-based Asif Malik – as co-defendants in corporate espionage proceedings taken by Rippling against Mr O'Brien last month. The Commercial Court heard Mr O'Brien passed on screenshots from Rippling's Slack messaging system to Mr Bouaziz, who was described as a billionaire, over the course of several months and was paid for this via Revolut and in cryptocurrency. Today, on the Indo Daily, Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Irish Independent legal affairs editor Shane Phelan and Sunday Independent senior correspondent Maeve Sheehan, to discuss how a payroll compliance manager was allegedly recruited as a corporate spy – and where the intrigue will go next.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Young, chatty workers disturbing older colleagues ‘not age harassment', UK tribunal rules
Older employees who are disturbed by younger, more boisterous colleagues in the workplace are not victims of age harassment, a UK employment tribunal has ruled. Employees in their 20s and 30s may annoy more mature co-workers by chatting, socialising and looking at their phones but they are not breaking workplace equality rules, the tribunal said. The ruling came in the case of Catherine Ritchie, an administrator in her late 60s who took her bosses to an employment tribunal for grievances including the noisy fun her younger co-workers were having while she was trying to get on with her job. Ms Ritchie said she found it difficult to watch 'extreme time wasting and low productivity' from 'noisy and boisterous' younger colleagues and was left with a pounding headache and a hoarse voice from having to talk loudly to make herself heard. READ MORE The tribunal in Watford, Hertfordshire, heard that Ms Ritchie was 66 when she began working for an electrical engineering company and was the oldest person there. In its summary of the case, the tribunal said Ms Ritchie found the office a very noisy environment and that this was distracting when she was trying to make calls. It said: 'She indicated that she found it unprofessional of colleagues to engage in personal conversations in the office, when they ought to be working. She referred to the fact that they were not paid to socialise and that she had difficulty in watching such time wasting and low productivity.' She felt she was not respected when she asked for quiet and asked a manager if she could work from home but this was not allowed. Ms Ritchie was told by one manager that she should concentrate on reaching her targets and not concern herself with what was going on around her. The tribunal said what she experienced did not amount to harassment. It concluded: 'The tribunal accepted that the claimant took her work seriously and wished to remain professional at all times, but they considered that her projection of this standard to all those with whom she worked was not reasonable and resulted in her having unreasonable feelings of indignation about their behaviour when she did not have justifiable reason to do so. 'The tribunal considered that the claimant's perception of the noisy and disruptive behaviour as amounting to harassment was not reasonable.' – Guardian
