A new statement from Premier Foods has been issued detailing a change in the focus of its programme following a review of comments about ‘Invest for Growth’.
Gavin Darby, chief executive officer, said: "Our ‘invest for growth’ programme has worked well for us over the last 18 months in allowing us to consolidate our supplier base and invest in innovation, marketing and promotions to support our brands. Many of our suppliers have chosen to invest with us and have grown their business as a result, despite the challenging market environment.
“Most companies look for value from their suppliers and will commonly negotiate discounts or lump sums wherever they can which will be offered and accepted by suppliers if they believe their business will benefit. This is standard business practice. The investment payments we have requested from our suppliers are effectively just one form of discount of which there are many different types.
“Over the last few days it has become apparent that this mechanism has been widely misunderstood and misinterpreted. In this situation, we are fully prepared to simplify the details of our future programme to a more conventional type of discount negotiation, potentially based on price, value or volume based rebates, or lump sums. The most important aspect for us is that we continue to develop strategic supplier partnerships that are focused on delivering mutual growth."
Premier Foods launched its ‘Invest for Growth’ programme in July 2013 as part of an initiative to reduce complexity in support of its plans to improve business. Last week the company defended the programme saying it had received a “positive response” from investors who had seen growth as a result. The full statement can be found in our initial story below.