Deals
Nestle Gives Ground to Billionaire Loeb, Prioritizing Profit
- Schneider says Nestle to ‘actively’ manage product lineup
- Portfolio shifts could amount to as much as 10% of total sales
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As Mark Schneider took the stage at London’s Corinthia Hotel for his first big strategy update, seated at the back of the ballroom was Dan Loeb, the activist investor who has spent the last three months goading the Nestle SA chief executive officer to seek profits over scale.
Schneider took a step toward meeting the hedge-fund chief’s demands, setting the Swiss food company’s first fixed profitability goal as it focuses on key businesses like coffee, pet care and bottled water rather than growth for growth’s sake. But Nestle stopped short of a wholesale embrace of Loeb’s agenda, vowing to keep its stake in French cosmetics giant L’Oreal SA.