“This further transformation will support our growth ambitions by releasing
funds to invest in production, distribution
and brand strength,” Stuckes said.
A priority for AkzoNobel in Europe
will be to increase its presence at the decorative retail level, particularly by raising
the number of stores within its own distribution network.
“With independent distribution chan-
nels under pressure, manufacturers’
owned/controlled stores become an in-
creasingly important route to market,”
said Stuckes. “Stores are an excellent way
to introduce and manage new product,
marketing and sales initiatives.”
AkzoNobel has indicated that it also be-
lieves that the economic downturn could
provide openings for acquisitions in Eu-
rope, where the top six players in the deco-
rative market still account for only 40
percent of sales. “Tough trading conditions
will generate opportunities to drive consol-
idation in the market,” said Stuckes.
Finland’s Tikkurila, one of Europe’s top
six competitors in decorative coatings with
operations in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, has announced a change in strategy
aimed at boosting its brands by strengthening
its distribution, particularly at the retail level.
“Volatility seems to be increasing in all
markets, including mature ones,” said Erkki
Jarvinen, Tikkurila’s president and chief executive. “This demands more flexible cost
structures, so that we can better adapt to
Most Western European countries are ex-
pected to go through decreases in GDP
growth of 60-90 percent next year compared
to 2011 which itself was a year of slow growth.
rapidly changing volume fluctuations and
consumption patterns. We will also try to
prioritize more clearly in the future both
markets, businesses and customers so that
we can improve the customer experience
and invest enough in growth markets.”
Tikkurila will be focusing especially on
Russia, which is forecast to maintain an an-
nual average GDP growth of four percent
for at least a few years, and its neighbour-
ing markets. But in the Czech Republic, Slo-
vakia and Hungary, where it does not have
a strong position, it is spinning off its busi-
nesses to a Czech-based company run by
former Tikkurila managers.
“We strongly believe in entrepreneurship and trust so that together with our
well-known partners we can better grow
the business and find an efficient set-up
and structure,” said Jarvinen.
In Finland Tikkurila has started reor-
ganizing its activities with the expected loss
of up to 100 jobs in a workforce in the
country of 750, equivalent to a cut of 13
percent. The company has a total of 3,500
employees in and outside Finland. “A leaner
structure will force us to concentrate more
on the customer interface and eliminate in-
ternal inefficiency,” said Jarvinen.
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