Treehouse reports increase in earnings
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) TreeHouse Foods Inc. said strong sales of private-label products helped drive an increase in third-quarter net income and should help produce stronger annual results than earlier expected. (Click HERE for full story.)

7-Eleven stores take a big gulp... of wine

(Associated Press) What goes well with Slim Jims and Slurpees? 7-Eleven wine, naturally. (Click HERE for full story.)

M&S extends branded products across U.K. after trial success
(Bloomberg) Marks and Spencer Group Plc will extend the sale of branded groceries across Britain, seeking to retain shoppers reluctant to buy only the retailer’s own food labels, after a regional trial was successful.  (Click HERE for full story.)

Mrs. Freshley's using Facebook to pick persona
(Marketing Daily) Mrs. Freshley's, a snack cakes brand from Flowers Foods, may sound quaint, but its marketers aren't. (Click HERE for full story.)

7-Eleven to launch one of the nation’s largest in-store TV networks
(7-Eleven Inc.) 7-Eleven Inc., the world’s premier convenience retailer, has contracted with Digital Display Networks, Inc. to create one of the nation’s largest out-of-home digital networks in more than 6,200 7-Eleven stores throughout the United States and Canada. (Click HERE for full story.)

Walmart cuts turkey, television prices to grab holiday sales
(Bloomberg.com) Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, cut prices on turkeys and plans reductions on flat-panel televisions to win holiday sales from rivals. (Click HERE for full story.)

Beer with extra buzz on tap up to 16%
(USA Today) A growing number of states are moving to allow higher alcohol content in beer, despite concerns from some substance-abuse experts. (Click HERE for full story.)

October sales improve but remain tepid
(Associated Press) U.S. retail sales figures from a key data service show signs of a rebound in October from last year's plunge. (Click HERE for full story.)

More On: Everything I need to know about business I learned from Google
(MediaPost) OK, kids. Class is back in session. Once again, we're studying business lessons learned from Google. As you'll recall, last time we covered these five Google-isms. (Click HERE for full story.)

Family Dollar sees growth in new stores, new shoppers
(Reuters) Family Dollar Stores Inc. will expand its business by opening new stores, renovating older locations and selling more to the middle- income consumers who are looking for bargains. (Click HERE for full story.)

GMA Study: Shopper marketing still siloed
(Marketing Daily) Shopper marketing continues to grow in importance for CPGs and retailers, but its effectiveness is being limited by insufficient integration with out-of-store marketing and media channels, according to a new study from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Booz & Company and SheSpeaks. (Click HERE for full story.)

Newbury St. site of new British invasion
(The Boston Globe) There are teapots galore, sweets with names like Tiddly Pots and Smiley Licks, and mannequins draped in the red and blue Union Jack. (Click HERE for full story.)

Carrefour executive Yraeta to depart
(The Wall Street Journal) French retail giant Carrefour SA said executive committee member Guy Yraeta, who heads the company's European operations outside of France, is leaving the company.

A Carrefour spokeswoman confirmed Mr. Yraeta's departure but declined to comment on his possible replacement. Mr. Yraeta could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Yraeta, who has worked for the company for 33 years and was also in charge of the company's hypermarket restructuring project, is the second person working on the company's hypermarkets to leave in less than a month.

Chief Financial Officer Pierre Bouchut in October said that the company had decided to replace the head of the French hypermarket business, Alain Souillard, with Guillaume Vicaire, who currently heads the company's Turkish operations, for reasons "you can read in the figures," and to improve the performance of the sprawling out-of-town stores. Mr. Bouchut's comments came after the company had reported a 7% drop in French hypermarket sales during its third quarter.

Revamping the giant, box-like stores that sell everything from groceries to television sets is key to Chief Executive Lars Olofsson's efforts to turnaround the company. Mr. Olofsson joined Carrefour from Nestle SA earlier this year with the mandate of reviving the retail giant.

The company's hypermarkets face competition from smaller, specialty stores in urban settings. Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer after U.S.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., plans to review proposals for revamping its hypermarkets by the end of the year, and hopes to roll out the new effort next year.

Until Mr. Yraeta's replacement is appointed, managers in charge of operations in Belgium, Italy, Spain and Poland will now report directly to CEO Lars Olofsson, and Philippe Broianigo will head the hypermarket revamping project, according to an internal document.

Separately, an Indonesian court Tuesday ordered the retailer to sell its stake in PT Alfa Retailindo and pay a $2.5 million fine for violating the country's antimonopoly rules.Carrefour shares closed up 1.2% at €29.80 ($43.73) on Tuesday.

CSNews/Nielsen exclusive: Frugal consumers return to eating at home
(Submitted by Jennifer Taylor, Business Manager, Hy-Vee/Topco, West Des Moines, IA)
(Convenience Store News) While the restaurant industry continues to get burned by the recession, supermarkets and other food retailers, including convenience stores, are taking advantage of consumers' move back into their homes at meal times. (Click HERE for full story.)

Dueling studies: Two sides of the same coin
(MorningNewsBeat) The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is out with a new study entitled “Shopper Marketing 3.0: Unleashing the Next Wave of  Value,” which suggests that “nearly half of food and beverage category shoppers and almost 60 percent of health/beauty and household goods category shoppers purchase their preferred brand even when a less-expensive alternative is available, with many shoppers using coupons and price promotions simply to justify purchasing preferred brands.” (Click HERE for full story.)

Roundy's acquiring Aurora in-store pharmacies
(American City Business Journals) Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. will buy from Aurora Health Care all Aurora-operated pharmacies located inside Pick 'n Save and Copps stores. (Click HERE for full story.)

National Brands vs. Private Label
(Brandweek) National-brand frozen food companies have been keeping an eye on the rearview mirror as private label sales have grown during the recession’s penny-pinching days. Store brands have made gains in several frozen categories. (Click HERE for full story.)

Chronic-stress reliever for women is often high-fat food
(USA Today) Many people say they eat more when they are under stress. Others eat less. (Click HERE for full story.)

Coyne resigns at Raley's; Clark named interim CEO
(Supermarket News) Raley's here said Friday William Coyne, president and chief executive officer since 2003, has resigned, effective today. (Click HERE for full story.)

Critics blast Kellogg's claim that cereals can boost immunity
(USA Today) Kellogg, the nation's largest cereal maker, is being called to task by critics who object to the swine flu-conscious claim now bannered in bold lettering on the front of Cocoa Krispies cereal boxes: "Now helps support your child's IMMUNITY." (Click HERE for full story.)

Dollar General plans IPO of about 34.1M shares
(Associated Press) Dollar General plans an initial public offering of approximately 34.1 million shares of common stock priced between $21 and $23 per share, according to a regulatory filing. (Click HERE for full story.)

Walmart to seek US urban growth
(Financial Times) Walmart said on Wednesday it is ready for a new US expansion drive in major cities using smaller and more efficient versions of its superstores, even as it continued to reduce its rate of annual square-footage growth in the US. (Click HERE for full story.)

Chains shout message of quality over the din of discount battles

Pushing fresh produce instead of cookies at the corner market
(The New York Times) Of all the changes coming to Francisco Baez’s cramped corner grocery store in Newark’s North Ward, he is most excited about the new scanner system at the two checkouts. (Click HERE for full story.)

FreshDirect offering gift cards
(Progressive Grocer) Internet grocer FreshDirect is now selling branded gift cards on its Web site, www.freshdirect.com. The cards target on-the-go residents of the metro New York area who want fresh foods at affordable prices. (Click HERE for full story.)

Nestlé focuses on long term
(The Wall Street Journal) Paul Bulcke became chief executive of Nestlé SA in April 2008, capping a career at the world's largest food company that began in 1979 as a management trainee. It's been a tough 18 months. Mr. Bulcke, a 55-year-old Belgian who ran Nestlé's huge Americas business before becoming CEO, took the helm just as shoppers world-wide were snapping purses shut.

As a result, the owner of brands including Nescafe, Perrier, KitKat and Jenny Craig found itself in an escalating battle with less expensive private-label products. This summer, Kroger Co. was selling a 24-pack of its own brand of bottled water for just $2.49, piling the pressure on Nestlé's Pure Life, Perrier and Poland Spring brands.

After several years of healthy growth, Nestlé's sales hit the brakes this year, lagging behind rivals such as Unilever and Danone SA. Meanwhile, Kraft Foods Inc.'s $17 billion bid for U.K. chocolate maker Cadbury PLC has thrown an unwanted spotlight on Nestlé's confectionery business, historically one of its weakest areas. Kraft's offer led many to wonder if the Swiss food giant would launch a rival bid for Cadbury in order to strength its chocolate business.

Last month, Mr. Bulcke painted a slightly brighter picture of Nestle's sales trend, announcing third-quarter organic growth of 3.6%, a bit better than the 3.5% reported for the first half, but still well off Nestle's long-term target or 5% to 6%.

In an interview at Nestle's headquarters in Switzerland, Mr. Bulcke reflected on the challenges of managing amid the downturn, as he sipped Nescafe and ate Cailler dark chocolates. Excerpts follow.

WSJ: What has worked best for Nestlé in managing the downturn?

Mr. Bulcke: It's a question of staying the course. We tell our people that our long-term [business plan] stays, and it is a good one. In good times and bad times, it has traction, it has mileage. We took [our strategy of inventing low-cost products for the emerging world] and gave it dramatically more momentum. The emerging consumer is one of the major growth accelerators we have identified.

WSJ:What would you have done differently in the last year?

Mr. Bulcke: Quite a lot of the competition tried to [cut prices] much more deeply than we wanted to engage in. Everybody goes for a smaller cake. Sometimes during the year, we should have engaged faster to counter these actions, not just with pricing, but in being sharper in identifying the danger of it. We said, "These promotions are going to be temporary." Sometimes we should have had more intensity in our reaction.

WSJ: Nestlé has had a revenue growth target of 5% to 6%, but your organic growth so far this year has been just 3.6%. Does your 5%-to-6% target still stand?

Mr. Bulcke: That is our long-term guidance. We are staying with that. In the third quarter, we grew volumes at a higher level than the quarter before, so we have momentum in volume growth. And that comes at a time when we have also been streamlining portfolios and taking out [underperforming items]. That negatively impacted growth, but it is like weeding out your garden so what you kept can flourish better. That all bodes well for growth in the future.

WSJ: What is your view of global growth prospects?

Mr. Bulcke: I don't think this crisis is going to be over just like that. It's going to have some drag. I see a recovery that will gain some traction, but gaining momentum is going to take some time. America is an area that is always rather punchy when it rebounds, but it's not going to be a big jump. It's going to be slow but firm. Europe was softer going in but will be softer going out. It will never be at a level you would expect in the U.S. Some traction in volumes is coming back.

WSJ: Your price increases this year have been only half the level of 2008. Do you see any pricing power coming back?

Mr. Bulcke: This market is so volatile on the cost side. It depends a lot on the category. Take cocoa: The price increases we've seen are structural. It's not a question of seeing the price fall again. Milk is also going up. We projected 2% more or less [of raw-material price increases] for this year. In terms of pricing our products, we will also follow a trend line of 2%. And we just hope that inflation doesn't come back.

WSJ: Investors often complain that Nestlé can't resist expensive, major acquisitions. You will soon have the chance to sell the rest of your stake in pharmaceutical company Alcon Inc. for as much as 30 billion Swiss francs, or about $29 billion. Can you reassure investors that Nestlé isn't going to make a major acquisition?

Mr. Bulcke: The Alcon situation is something that can only be played out in January and it would be six or seven months before you even get the money. You will always have someone who says, '"You paid too much." But we are a long-term company. We are not going to do what I sometimes call "Hoopla" management, and do something damaging. We will be responsible.

WSJ: Will you make a counterbid for Cadbury?

Mr. Bulcke: I won't have any comment on that.

WSJ: After years of strong growth, the bottled-water market is under huge pressure now because of environmental concerns and aggressive competition from private label. Is bottled water now a fundamentally low-growth business?

Mr. Bulcke: It has been the perfect storm, both because of environmental concerns and the crisis. Water is a category that gave us so many years of joy. And all of a sudden, it changed. That is what hurts. The environmental question is going to be balanced again. We have the lightest bottle now. On the value chain, we are working hard to gain efficiencies. We are gaining market share in the U.S. and we are just starting in the developing world. [Low-price brand] Pure Life is growing double-digits. Water is going to be one of the best categories to be in.

WSJ: What is the worst piece of management advice you've received on how to deal with a downturn?

Mr. Bulcke: The worst thing would be to start to react to short-term pressures and jeopardizing your long-term view. That's selling your soul because it loosens up your long-term inspiration and the discipline of your organization. That is a very dangerous place to be.

WSJ: How do you motivate people?

Mr. Bulcke: You talk about things. In spite of thinking that this is a huge company, we have many ways of connecting, and even more now than ever before. My team transmits this and the multiplying effect is tremendous.I go to almost all of the training courses that we hold at a center near here—I've been 20-25 times—where I talk about things.When you're consistently talking about these same things, you feel the traction and feel the company move quite rapidly in that direction.

Kroger’s Fresh Selections salad offers new traceback technology
(Submitted by Toni Bowen, Senior Director, Safeway, Pleasanton, CA)

(The Packer) The Kroger Co., Cincinnati, is using new traceability technology of on its line fresh salads that allows consumers to learn where the produce is grown (Click HERE for full story.)

Brookshire operates on-Site NASCAR store
(Submitted by Debbie Woodard, Business Manager, Brookshire Grocery Company, Tyler, TX, “This is just one example of how Brookshire Grocery partners with one of its communities.  Our team plans to visit the NASCAR Brookshire’s store at TMS next week and look forward to checking out a well-represented Store Brands selection.”)
(Supermarket News) NASCAR fans in Texas don’t have to travel far to do their grocery shopping thanks to Brookshire Grocery Co.’s on-site track store at the Texas Motor Speedway. (Click HERE for full story.)

Accidental purchases: Blame package design
(Marketing Daily) Poor package design is costing marketers more than $2 billion in U.S. sales as consumers are accidentally reaching for copycat house brands that are meant to look like the well-known branded products. (Click HERE for full story.)

WWF partners with Kroger on sustainable seafood

(World Wildlife Fund) World Wildlife Fund today announced a partnership with The Kroger Co., one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, to help develop a strategy for responsibly-sourced wild seafood. (Click HERE for full story.)

Wal-Mart starts selling caskets, urns online
(Associated Press) The world's largest retailer wants to keep its customers even after they die. (Click HERE for full story.)

CVS shoppers get green for going green
(Brandweek) CVS customers looking to help the planet stay green can now earn some green for their eco-conscious efforts. (Click HERE for full story.)

P&G considers booting some brands
(The Wall Street Journal) Procter & Gamble Co.'s new chief is ready to deal.

Facing mounting pressure to boost sliding sales and recalibrate his company, P&G CEO Robert McDonald is stepping up the hunt for acquisition and divestiture candidates, people close to the company said.

Since assuming the chief executive role in July, Mr. McDonald has been trying to shake up P&G's slow, process-heavy culture. He has increased scrutiny of P&G brands including Braun small appliances, Iams pet food, Duracell batteries and Pringles potato snacks. While those businesses have long been considered extraneous to P&G's focus on beauty, health and nonfood household staples, Mr. McDonald now is presenting an ultimatum: The leaders of those businesses are on heightened notice to prove their brands' prospects or face a sale.

The division heads have been "pushed to perform better and make the case for more investment," according to a person familiar with the situation. The implication was that those divisions could be divested "if they don't improve results soon."

Meanwhile, P&G has looked at the consumer-products portfolio of Schering-Plough, which is merging with Merck & Co., as well as that of Wyeth, which was just acquired by Pfizer Inc. Another possibility: Beauty-products maker Alberto-Culver Co. It's unclear, however, whether those companies would choose to sell.

P&G is getting closer to a deal to acquire Sara Lee Corp.'s international household-products unit, particularly its Ambi Pur air fresheners, which are popular in Europe, people familiar with the matter said.

Pfizer, Alberto-Culver and Sara Lee all declined to comment. A P&G spokesman said, "We will continue to closely monitor our brand portfolio."

A Sara Lee deal could be the first of many acquisitions under consideration as Mr. McDonald seeks to "aggressively recalibrate and enhance" a company he knows is under-performing, said one of these people.

The world's biggest consumer-products company has struggled more than many of its competitors during this recession. Penny-pinching shoppers increasingly have forgone P&G's premium-priced staples, which can cost more than twice as much as competing brands, especially retailers' private-label goods. Many of P&G's high-end brands, including Tide detergent, Downy fabric softener and Dawn dish soap, have lost market share, pulling down P&G's overall sales and profits.

The Cincinnati-based company is expected to report another quarter of disappointing results on Thursday. Acquiring faster-growing businesses would allow P&G to buy its way back to sales gains, people close to the company say.

Some analysts insist that improving P&G's mega brands is the only way to turn around results. P&G has 23 brands that each garner more than $1 billion in annual sales. They account for 69% of P&G's total sales and about 75% of profits, according to estimates by Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Schmitz.

Last month, Mr. McDonald detailed for investors his plans to reignite growth, including price cuts, overseas expansion and creating more low-cost products.

"We know that in fact you punish us for size," Mr. McDonald told investors at a presentation last month. "We're focused on turning that scale into a growth and cost advantage."

Instead of spending several months evaluating where to make changes, as would be the norm at P&G, Mr. McDonald aims to "get more aggressive and do deals that will enhance what the company has," said one person familiar with the matter.

A more aggressive deal-making stance from P&G could shake up the entire consumer-products segment. With consumers pulling back on spending, a growing number of these companies are contemplating mergers, say consumer-product bankers.

Duracell—which P&G acquired when it bought Gillette in 2005—has been considered a questionable fit in P&G's cupboard because of its exposure to cheap private-label batteries and fluctuating commodity costs.

P&G has shopped Duracell to potential buyers, but so far no deal has emerged, according to a person close to the matter. Duracell will post about $2.5 billion in sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, according to Sanford Bernstein analyst Ali Dibadj.

Iams, with an estimated $1.8 billion in sales according to Mr. Dibadj, has struggled to improve its profit margins amid fluctuating commodity costs. As one of the most expensive brands in the pet-food aisle, Iams has been a tougher sell in the recession and its market share has slipped.

Braun, with annual sales estimated at $1.3 billion, is also deemed outside of P&G's core businesses. Like Duracell, the brand came along with the acquisition of Gillette.

P&G executives have been examining Braun's appliance technologies to determine whether they can be applied to other products, such as facial-cleansing devices.

Who's cutting back on what
(Brandweek) It's common knowledge that consumers have been trying to economize in the past year. (Click HERE for full story.)

Kraft Foods chooses to phase out 'Smart Choices' label
(Chicago Tribune) Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. said Wednesday that it plans to phase out use of the "Smart Choices" logo, an industry-led nutrition labeling initiative that federal food regulators last week implied could mislead consumers. (Click HERE for full story.)

Global consumer confidence bounces back
(Brandweek) Consumer confidence is heading in the right direction, according to the latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index. (Click HERE for full story.)

10 things corporations can learn from pro wrestling
(Fast Company) Recently, writing about the death of the incomparable Capt. Lou Albano, journalist Phil Reisman with The Journal News wrote: "Somebody once said that to understand America, you have to understand pro wrestling." (Click HERE for full story.)

A fresh No Frills
(Omaha World-Herald) No Frills isn't just the name of the locally owned supermarket chain, its owners say, it's a description of a business plan that allows them to offer extras to consumers while preserving the company's low-prices tradition. (Click HERE for full story.)

How to network – live & in person
(The Wall Street Journal) Adapted from the upcoming book THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press, Dec. 29, 2009). In business, as they say, it's not what you know but whom you know.

Networking is one of the most valuable (and inexpensive) forms of marketing. Many successful business owners are master networkers who can walk into a room full of strangers, make a connection and handily attract a new client, partner or investor.

While it helps to be naturally outgoing, networking is a skill that can be learned. First, it's necessary to get yourself in the right spot— and that means interacting with people who can potentially help your business. Attend a conference, trade show or social event where you can meet people who either need your product or service or know someone who might. Consider throwing the party yourself at your home, your place of business or a local bar or restaurant.

How to get the conversation flowing without sounding overly aggressive? Here are some tips.

Forget the artificial sales pitch. Keep the conversation natural. Share information about you and your company, but not in a way that's canned. Asking other people questions about themselves, too, creates opportunities to share what you're doing without the conversation seeming like it's all about me-me-me.

Communicate your passion. Not only can you win people over with your enthusiasm for your product or service, but an upbeat manner is often contagious. Getting other people to share their passion, too, helps create a memorable two-way conversation.

Don't commandeer the conversation. The most successful networkers are charismatic people who make the person they're speaking to feel special. Look other people in the eye, really listen to what they have to say and guide them to topics they want to talk about.

Keep in touch. You'll likely end up exchanging business cards— but that's where this new relationship starts, not ends. Make sure to call or send follow-up e-mails or notes with a reminder about what you can do for them.