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Nestle Purina to Build $15 Million Building at Checkerboard Square
St. Louis Front Page - Business and Technology News 
St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Office: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com |
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Nestle Purina to Build $15 Million Building at Checkerboard Square ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), July 18, 2010 - Nestle Purina PetCare has announced plans to construct a $15 million Learning and Training Center at its Checkerboard Square headquarters - the first new building on campus in nearly 25 years. Purina and Nestle officials celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 16, featuring Jack Russell terriers "going to ground" and remarks by Nestle Purina Chief Executive Officer W. Patrick McGinnis and Nestle Executive Vice President Luis Cantarell. "This is good news for Nestle Purina, good news for our associates and good news for the City of St. Louis," Pat McGinnis said. "Even during challenging economic times, we continue to grow and invest in our business." Construction on the new four-story, 56,000-square-foot building will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by December 2011. Purina's 55-acre Checkerboard Square property features 17 buildings with approximately 1.3 million-square-feet of office space, three ponds and a dog park. This capital project marks the first new building at Purina headquarters since 1986. The new building will emphasize innovation and include a state-of-the-art 82-seat "in the round" auditorium, along with conference rooms and office space. It will face Chouteau Avenue. Food and Beverage Executives See Economic Recovery Two Years Out ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), July 18, 2010 - Senior executives in the food and beverage industry see improved revenue and profitability this year and next, but caution that the jobs outlook in their sector will only gradually improve in 2011 according to a recent survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm. About two-thirds of executive respondents in the KPMG survey said their revenue and profitability were better now than a year ago, in marked contrast to KPMG's survey of the sector last summer when less than one-third thought these business measures were better than the previous year. Regarding jobs, 39 percent of respondents were more optimistic about employment in their sector over the next year, which is seven percentage points higher than last summer's survey. When it came to their specific hiring plans, while 51 percent of the senior food and beverage executives said they expect to add headcount - most estimated only in the range of one to three percent. Twenty-three percent of respondents thought they would cut headcount this year and 26 percent expected no change. Product, Merchandising Innovations Drive Revenue Growth When asked to name the biggest drivers of their company's revenue growth in the next 1-3 years, the food and beverage execs most frequently cited product innovations (89 percent) and innovative merchandising strategies (82 percent) as their top two factors. "Food and beverage executives are seeing a better economic picture this year relating to their overall business," said Patrick Dolan, KPMG LLP national line of business leader - Consumer Markets, and U.S. sector leader - Food, Drink and Consumer Goods. "However, significant concerns remain over the employment outlook and the continued challenges of heightened competition and aggressive pricing and discounting practices. "The executives tell us they are also focusing on innovation--in products, in services and in branding and promotions--to drive growth," continued Dolan. "A clear illustration of this is the skyrocketing use of mobile internet and online shopping. Food and beverage executives will need to meet the challenge of marketing to a consumer base growing more technologically savvy every day." U.S. Economic Recovery Seen As Two Years Away Consistent with the results of last year's survey, the majority of food and beverage executives (59 percent) expect their sector to recover ahead of the U.S. economy as a whole. And they believe the timeline for a full U.S. economic recovery, on average, is now 2.2 years away - which translates to June 2012. In last year's survey, executives estimated 1.9 years for a U.S. economic recovery. When survey respondents were asked to identify the triggers they think will accelerate a U.S. economic recovery, the top two factors cited were increased hiring from improved business conditions (70 percent) and improved consumer confidence (66 percent). "While there is an uptick in the level of optimism this year from the food and beverage execs, they are pushing their recovery outlook even further out from last year's predictions," added Dolan. "These results illustrate that the economy will most likely not recover as rapidly as hoped, placing additional emphasis on food and beverage companies to continue to employ strategies to manage costs and improve productivity. Companies are trying to achieve sustainable margin improvement in the face of continuing challenging times." Factors and Triggers Impacting Sector Recovery Executives thought the increased use of mobile internet by consumers (39 percent) would most positively impact sector recovery followed by increased online shopping (34 percent) and increased outsourcing of technical/business procedures (28 percent). Overcapacity of store space was cited by 30 percent of the respondents as having the most negative impact on sector recovery. Factors most likely to hinder economic recovery in their sector include continuing high national unemployment (64 percent), decreased consumer confidence (49 percent) and increased government regulation (34 percent). The KPMG survey was conducted during April and May 2010 and reflects the responses of 61 CEOs and other C-level suite executives in the food and beverage industry. Approximately 21 percent of respondents work for food and beverage companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion; 46 percent represent companies with annual revenues in the $250 million-$1 billion range and 32 percent represent companies with annual revenue below $250 million. Clarion Research Inc. conducted the survey and compiled the data.  
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