Smucker Brews Up Deal to Buy Folgers†

Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2008 — J.M. Smucker Co. soon will be serving Folgers coffee along with its namesake jellies and Hungry Jack pancakes.

Smucker is expected this week to seal a deal to buy the Folgers coffee business from Procter & Gamble Co. in an all-stock deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Details aren't known but given Folgers's annual sales of $1.6 billion, the business could fetch a price tag of $2 billion or more.

Why GE Is Getting Out of the Kitchen

Stoves, refrigerators, and other appliances used to be the core of General Electric's business. But now the hot growth is elsewhere

BusinessWeek, May 16, 2008 — By jettisoning one of its most iconic units, General Electric (GE) would join a small but high-profile club of companies that famously parted ways with businesses once synonymous with their brand names. Companies such as IBM (IBM) and Eastman Kodak (EK) have also—either because of financial straits or tactical maneuvering—transformed themselves by letting go of ventures that once defined them.

Italy's Hot New Couturier Has An Unfamiliar Ring†

Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2008 — In a recent advertising spread in Italian Vogue, a model poses while the contents of her handbag — including several cellphones — spill into the street. A caption explains that she is wearing "tutto Derercuny."

Not quite "all Derercuny." There is Samsung in there, too. Unbeknownst to many followers of high fashion, Derercuny, a three-year-old Italian label that is garnering attention during this week's Milan fashion shows, is part of South Korea's sprawling Samsung Group. Best known for Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest seller of televisions and second-largest seller of cellphones, the group also includes Cheil Industries Co., a huge textile and chemicals concern that owns Derercuny directly.

Xerox Gets a Brand Makeover

Once dominant in the copier market, the tech giant has had to wake up to a new world. Its latest brand identity attempts to reflect its newfound nimbleness

BusinessWeek, January 7, 2008 — The venerable Xerox (XRX) brand is far from dead or dying. It is, after all, not just a brand name but also in some countries a verb, like Google (GOOG). That's pretty good company in the world of high tech. But most of Xerox's customers don't put the Stamford (Conn.) copier company in the same class as the Internet search juggernaut. A new brand makeover, Xerox's first in 40 years, kicks off this week in a step toward trying to get customers to think of Xerox in a different light.

The International Bank of Branson

Virgin's rescue bid for Northern Rock could position it as a global player

BusinessWeek, October 29, 2007 — Where most see turmoil, some see opportunity. And few are more opportunistic than Sir Richard Branson, the swashbuckling founder of everything from airlines to health clubs and—soon—an outfit offering space travel, all under the Virgin Group brand. So when a liquidity crisis sent British mortgage lender Northern Rock's share price plummeting, Branson was ready to come to the rescue—and add the bank to his growing roster of Virgin companies.

Why Harrah's Opted to Roll Dice on $5 Billion Merger With Caesars†

Q&A: VP Kris Hart Says Research Showed Move Would Be Brand Booster

Advertising Age, October 15, 2007 — Kris Hart, VP-brand management for Harrah's Entertainment, recently oversaw the merger of two major players in the gaming world — Harrah's and Caesars, which it bought for $5 billion — creating the world's largest casino company. Ms. Hart's topic at this year's Association of National Advertisers' conference is brand and organization integration, and the quantitative customer research conducted before the historic merger. Here, she relates to Advertising Age reporter Megan McIlroy how it takes a lot more than luck to meld such industry giants.

After Buying Binge, Nestle Goes On a Diet†

Departing CEO Slashes Slow Sellers, Brands; 'No' to Low-Carb Rolo

Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2007 — Nestlé SA Chief Executive Peter Brabeck made two troubling discoveries last year: The food maker was churning out 130,000 variations of its brands, and 30% weren't making money. After 10 years running the world's largest food company, Mr. Brabeck worries that Nestlé has grown so big that it has become unwieldy and slow. Now, in the final months before he steps down as CEO next April, he is pushing an aggressive plan to jettison weaker brands and simplify the organization.

Energizer Acquires Playtex for $1.9 Billion†

Deal Will Broaden Company's Competition with Giant P&G

Advertising Age, July 17, 2007 — Energizer Holdings announced plans on Friday to acquire Playtex Products, putting the Energizer Bunny in charge of a host of new categories ranging from tampons to sunscreen and children's sippy cups

Ford Seeking a Future by Going Backward

With its recent decision to entertain bids for Volvo, Ford appears to be dismantling the collection of luxury auto companies that it once assembled with such confidence

New York Times, July 17, 2007 — When Bill Ford Jr. beat out Fiat and Volkswagen eight years ago to buy Volvo, he declared the $6.5 billion acquisition a “meaningful step” to fulfilling the Ford Motor Company’s “21st-century vision” of becoming the world’s leading automaker.

IHOP Buys Applebee's for $2.1 Billion†

Pancake Giant Looks to Right Floundering Brand Through Franchising

Advertising Age, July 17, 2007 — Pancake-flipping IHOP Corp. has purchased the struggling Applebee's restaurant chain for $2.1 billion, the company announced today.

Announcing the deal, IHOP said it intended to convert the bulk of Applebee's 508 company-owned stores to franchises, mirroring a transition IHOP itself employed to improve its own business in recent years.