“It certainly didn’t turn out to be a brilliant idea to put them together, but I don’t think taking them apart will fix it,” he told CNBC, adding he was “disappointed” by the decision.
Executive Chair Miguel Patricio launched the move as a way to simplify capital allocation and sharpen strategic focus on a marketing level.
Will a split help?
The separation poses a tougher problem for investors: If consumers are fleeing “old” grocery brands that haven’t adapted to the health and wellness standards of today, why should separate brands fare better in the same silos?
TD Cowen’s Robert Moskow argued to the Journal that food conglomerates often overestimate the benefits of size. “Food companies have found that their breadth of influence in the grocery store does not necessarily yield the advantages they expected,” he said.
