The first day of the 2014 Consumer Goods Forum, which is taking place in the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, saw Walmart's Philip Behn give a talk on the success of Walmart's savings-catcher programme.
He talked also about Walmarts's app, which scans codes of prescription medicines to renew orders, and about gamification, using the example of nursery products: one can customise one's nursery using a virtual picture which displays how certain products may appear if purchased, for example.
The central topics, however, are food-waste reduction, improvement in food labelling, action against climate change, the end of advertising of unhealthy food products to children, traceability along supply chains, agility in marketing, and eCommerce.
A resolute Paul Bulcke, Nestlé's CEO, told the floor, "We as a board have taken the decision to take action against these issues."
Laurant Fabius, the Foreign Minister of France, stated "There is no growth without change, and there is no change without risk."
Two of the most interesting presentations after lunch were by Georges Plassat, the chairman and CEO of Carrefour, the second biggest grocery retailer in the world, and by Jean-Paul Agon, chairmain and CEO of L'Oréal, whose presentation finished with an impressive montage of the company's outstanding advertising.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Peter Donnelly
