Swiss baker believes Irish-created multinational made the mistake of getting bogged down in financial engineering, not customer taste and product innovation
“For me there was too much financial engineering in the past,” he says. “I’m a baker. I grew up in a bakery. In order to be successful long term in this business you need to innovate, you need to be a leader, you need to remain relevant.”
Cuisine de France remains “a golden asset” that is going through something of a “revival”, says Jordi, following recent investments in sourdough and speciality breads, like its ancient grain bloomer and cheese and jalapeño loaf that sit alongside its original Parisian baguettes.Baking is in Jordi’s blood. His parents owned a bakery in his native Muhen, a small, German-speaking town between Zurich and Bern.
From the outset Jordi thought the merger was a “good one” even though he had had designs on Hiestand itself in time becoming an acquirer rather than the target it became. The deal combined IAWS’s Cuisine de France brand and then recently acquired La Brea Bakery and cookie maker Otis Spunkmeyer in the US with Hiestand’s European brands, including Coup de Pates pastries in France.
Things went from bad to worse the following January when it emerged that the Otis Spunkmeyer unit in the US was losing big contracts from food groups that outsourced production to it after Aryzta decided to go head-to-head with them with products on retail shelves. “Gary is a very experienced warhorse for difficult moments,” says Jordi. “But he probably didn’t expect the company to be in the shape it was in when he joined. Also Gary was not an animal of the industry. It’s really important in this industry to understand its dynamics, to smell what is looming next month or next year – like where commodities are going, what’s happening in the labour market, and what customers will be looking for next.
Still, Greber convinced Jordi to meet a group of concerned Swiss shareholders in Aryzta a few days later. Within weeks Veraison and Cobas had convinced Jordi to put his name forward as candidate for chairman as the activists called for an extraordinary general meeting to remove several Irish directors, including McGann and Toland, from the board.
Group net debt – including a chunk of hybrid debt-equity instruments that don’t have a repayment date but where interest costs had been rolling up for years – has fallen from €1.89 billion in mid-2020, or 7.3 times ebitda, to an estimated figure of just over €1 billion or a ratio of 3.8 times earnings.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New bill strengthening laws on consent and character references to be delivered by end of the year'If somebody is willing to put to pen and paper that they believe this person is of outstanding character, they should be willing to answer questions in person,' said Helen McEntee.
Read more »
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry make very rare appearance with kidsThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made a very rare public appearance with their two young children, Archie and Lilibet and we can't believe how much they have grown
Read more »
Sex education: Teacher ‘not equipped’ to discuss gender - Catholic group'I only know two genders.' Teachers are not equipped to discuss 'medical issues' in the new sex education curriculum, according to a Catholic parents group.
Read more »
The new odds on whether Ryan Tubridy is likely to return to work at RTÉ | Her.ieTubs has said he hopes to return to the job he loves on the RTÉ airwaves, but the bookmakers don't seem to think it's likely...
Read more »
How to save money on a ski holiday: Book early, travel late and six other expert tipsHow to save money on a ski holiday: Book early, travel late and six other expert tips via IrishTimesLife
Read more »
Unionism on the Twelfth: ‘no-one likes us and we don’t care’Inside Politics: To mark the Twelfth of July, Hugh Linehan talks to Dr Aaron Edwards about what it would take to map out a more positive unionist vision for Northern Ireland in the years ahead
Read more »