FOCUS 2
KPMG: FOCUS ON CONSUMER GOODS
LIZ CLAYDON, Partner H
ello and welcome to the second edition of Focus on Consumer Goods, our multi-media magazine for business leaders in the sector.
As with the fi rst edition, we’re
covering some of the most pressing issues facing an industry that has been undergoing huge changes in recent years. But with growth very much back on the agenda, it’s also an industry that has turned a corner. Even a year ago, the focus for many groups was still on internal cost-cutting and building a strong balance sheet. Today, we’re detecting a real hunger for top line growth, albeit delivered in a sustainable and profi table way.
But where does that growth come from? There’s no one-size-fi ts-all answer to that. For some the key will lie in R&D and product innovation, others will hit the acquisition trail and many businesses will look to win market share through aggressive pricing and discounting. But new thinking is needed. What worked before and during the economic turbulence of recent years won’t necessarily work today.
At least some of that new thinking will undoubtedly be driven by digital technology. There are huge opportunities for consumer goods companies and retailers to unlock the value of information collected on customers across multiple touchpoints – the ‘big data’ revolution – but this will require not only a steep learning curve but also real strategic vision. The critical point here is proving cause and effect so that businesses know if they are getting the right return on their investment and can leverage this as effectively as possible.
Meanwhile all businesses are adapting - some more quickly than others – to an omni-channel environment that has seen a breaking down of the barriers between the online and offl ine channels. This is an area where consumer goods businesses must plan to acquire, retain and nurture talented people with the skills needed to build effective omni-channel operations.
© 2013 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member fi rm of the KPMG network of independent member fi rms affi liated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
Speaking of talented people, I am delighted to extend a very warm welcome Jim Grover, former strategy director of Diageo, as a senior adviser to KPMG’s consumer markets team. He brings a wealth of experience at a time of huge opportunities and challenges for companies in the sector. We discuss a number of such opportunities and challenges in this issue - I hope you enjoy reading it.
Liz Claydon UK Head of Consumer Markets
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