Nestle Targets Rs 3000cr Turnover Goal

Nestle India has targeted a doubling of its sales turnover by the year 2000 to touch Rs 3,000 crore. It has also scripted a long-term objective of doubling turnover every three years.

The company has drawn up an objective plan for the year 2000 which envisages that Nestle India would be the leading company in the Indian food industry.

Besides, the plan also states that the company would maintain profit levels above the average for the food industry in India.

The objective plan also states the key areas of focus for the company, the thrust being on personnel management and customer service. This would include a change in the selection criterion for managers. Under the new criterion, managers would need creativity and commitment in addition to professional know-how.

As part of the new strategy, the company would focus on products rather than systems.

Besides, emphasis would be given to the lowest levels of management since they form the linkage between the company and its customers.

The plan is to implement a new style of management and new kind of relation with employees.

At present, Nestle is the third largest food company in India, having a dominant market share in most value-added segments of the food industry: milk products, infant milk formulae, weaning cereals, chocolates and confectionery, culinary products, instant coffee, tea, health beverages an wafers and waffles.

The company, which will announce its financial results today for the year ended December 31, 1997, is expected to post a sales turnover of around Rs 1,440 crore. This would compare favourably with the companys stated objective since its turnover was Rs 716 crore in 1994.

Nestle India has already launched more than 30 new products in the domestic market during the last one year, the emphasis being in the areas of culinary, chocolates and confectionery.

The company is now firmly into confectionery, after an aborted attempt to buy out Nutrine which is now being sold to Sara Lee, the US-based multi-product company.

In fact, Nestle had recently test marketed its imported confectionery, Fox, in some select domestic market. It has also introduced Allens, its global range of confectionery in India.

However, coffee and dairy products remain its core areas. Besides, in snack foods, Maggie from the Nestle stable is the single largest culinary brand in the country. Its range of specially developed culinary products include noodles, sauces, soups, super seasonings, dosa and sambar mixes.