Latest news with #Magnit
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Continuous scenario planning, war chests top finance playbooks for uncertain times
This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Market volatility and rapid technological change are putting pressure on CFOs' planning efforts as they navigate fresh uncertainties — from tariffs affecting supply chains to AI rollouts and growing competition for talent. At an American City Business Journals virtual roundtable last week, the CFO of workforce technology provider Magnit and the vice president of finance and strategy at kitchen products company Made in Cookware suggested ongoing scenario planning is essential. 'As I think about challenges today — beyond AI and technology — we've got this uncertainty in the markets with tariffs and seeing customer pullbacks,' said Rudy Gonzalez, CFO of Folsom, California-based Magnit. 'As a CFO, you have to be a utility player.' CFOs should plan for optimization and recovery, including how to manage debt if interest rates rise. They should also anticipate customer churn, he added. Jimmy Du, vice president of finance and strategy at Austin-based Made in Cookware, said the company has been running scenario plans for some time. Systemic events in recent years — including the COVID-19 pandemic and bank failures — can affect cash and revenue projections, and companies need to pivot, he argued. Now, the company is assessing the fallout from trade tariffs. 'Tariffs, to some degree, are outside of our control, but we're asking our manufacturers to share the cost,' he said. The company is scrutinizing expenses, including headcount, processes and warehouse operations — while working to retain inventory and meet growth targets. It's also looking for ways to offset tariffs while keeping operational expenditures tight. Amid lingering inflation and high financing costs, return on investment 'has to be held to a higher standard' than just a few years ago, Gonzalez said. Magnit, after paying down debt, built a cash 'war chest' that allowed it to invest in automation and agentic tools to offset wage inflation, Gonzalez said. Made in Cookware said it hasn't made major changes to its allocation strategy in response to economic pressures, but as an inventory-heavy business, maintaining the flow of payments to suppliers is a priority, Du said. The company has frozen hiring and accelerated cost–cutting measures. Cost savings, including from the back office, will be redeployed to marketing, which the company sees as a critical growth driver. 'Marketing spend is probably the last thing I would touch, as long as it's spent efficiently and at the right metrics — all of the savings that we make are then redeployed to drive growth,' said Du. Both companies are cautiously optimistic about the role of artificial intelligence in streamlining tasks across finance and the broader workforce. Made in Cookware is testing the use of AI to automate tasks, including invoice tagging. While using AI to drive efficiency is appealing, companies should weigh the benefits of an enterprise platform against a patchwork of point solutions, which can be less attractive 'because it's hard to get the ROI when you're duplicating costs and have to build integrations,' Gonzalez said. Companies also need to consider how much human oversight AI-generated output requires, particularly around data privacy, he added. Panelists also discussed how CFOs can attract top talent to their firms, with remote work and quicker career development paths acting as possible inducements for up-and-coming professionals. Remote work 'opens the door to talent that's not right by a physical office, and that used to be a limiting factor for companies,' Gonzalez said. Remote work also opens up opportunities to bring in talented candidates who are based outside the U.S., he added.
Emirates 24/7
01-05-2025
- Business
- Emirates 24/7
Russian supermarket operator Magnit buys premium-segment competitor Azbuka Vkusa
Russian supermarket operator Magnit is consolidating its position in the sector by acquiring premium-segment competitor Azbuka Vkusa. Magnit, whose largest shareholder is the Russian investment firm Marathon, has been transforming itself into a conglomerate in recent years. It is currently purchasing a controlling stake in Azbuka Vkusa. That will add a high-end segment to Magnit's already thriving business, covering a wide range of the food retail market. Azbuka Vkusa is similar to premium grocers Whole Foods in the U.S. and Waitrose in the UK. "The acquisition of Azbuka Vkusa gives us an opportunity to substantially strengthen our retail positions in Moscow and enter into a principally new segment for us, premium retail, which will enable us to cover practically all consumer objectives in food retail," Magnit general director Yevgeny Sluchevsky said in a statement. Magnit already has a vast presence, with more than 31,000 stores in Russia and nearby Uzbekistan. It opened a total of 2,350 stores last year, according to a company earnings report. The company had strong growth last year. Net retail sales grew by 20.3% compared with the previous year, driven by a combination of 8.8% selling space growth and 11.2% like-for-like sales growth, the company said in its report. Meanwhile, the online segment skyrocketed, with e-commerce gross merchandise value (GMV), the total value of merchandise sold, more than doubling last year to RUB 100.6 billion (USD 1.23 billion). In 2023, Magnit completed its acquisition of the Kazan Express marketplace and has since transitioned it into its self-branded Magnit Market, which has more than 4,600 pick-up points across 275 cities. The current acquisition of Azbuka Vkusa is awaiting Russian government approval and the fulfillment of some terms agreed upon by the parties, according to a press release. "The Azbuka Vkusa brand is well known for its wide range of high-quality and exclusive products, as well as its high level of service and loyal customer base," Sluchevsky said. "A strong point is Azbuka Vkusa's ready-made food," Sluchevsky emphasized. "This expertise will help improve and expand the offerings of Magnit Group stores in a segment that is currently the fastest growing in retail." Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU court refuses to lift sanctions against Russian foreign minister's son-in-law
The Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld sanctions against Russian businessman Alexander Vinokurov, who is married to the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Source: European Pravda, citing the judgment posted on the court's website Details: Vinokurov, the president of Marathon Group and the majority stakeholder in food retail giant Magnit, had petitioned the court to consider his complaint seeking the lifting of sanctions as reasonable. He also sought to invalidate an EU Council ruling imposing restrictive measures against him for activities that undermine or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, with all associated costs and fees to be payable by the EU Council. In the official EU documents, Vinokurov is identified as "a businessperson involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Russian government". The court judgment outlined the following reasons for his inclusion and continued listing in the sanctions register. Quote: "[The applicant] is a Russian businessman with interests in food retail, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and infrastructure. He holds executive positions at the investment company Marathon Group and the largest Russian food retail chain, Magnit." Details: It also noted that he is married to Ekaterina Vinokurova, the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and that his father, Semyon Vinokurov, previously headed the Russian state enterprise Stolichnye Apteki and is considered a leading figure in the country's pharmaceutical industry. Quote: "Thus, [the applicant] has close ties to the Russian government and is actively involved in sectors of the economy that are key sources of revenue for the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine." Details: It was further noted that on 24 February 2022, following the initial stages of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Vinokurov attended a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and other Russian government officials, along with 36 other businessmen, to discuss the impact of Western sanctions. Quote: "The fact that he was invited to this meeting indicates that he is part of Putin's inner circle and that he supports or engages in actions and policies that undermine or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, as well as its stability and security." Details: The court added that this is further confirmed by Vinokurov's close personal ties to Lavrov, "who is responsible for Russia's aggression and policies that undermine or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence". Lavrov himself and members of his family such as Vinokurov are subject to Western sanctions. Background: On 16 December, the Council of the European Union adopted the 15th package of economic and individual restrictive measures, which included North Korean officials and Chinese suppliers of drone kits. The EU's upcoming 16th sanctions package against Russia is expected to target aluminium, agricultural products, the shadow fleet, LNG, and Russian banks. Support UP or become our patron!
