Dive Brief:
- Italian candy maker Ferrero will name Lapo Civiletti its new CEO on Sept. 1, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The appointment is the first time in two decades that someone outside of the family will lead the company, as Civiletti replaces family scion Giovanni Ferrero.
- The company said Ferrero will transition to the position of executive chairman, where he will chart a longer-term strategy around boosting sales and expanding its global footprint in the sweets space.
Dive Insight:
The maker of Tic Tacs, Kinder eggs and Nutella selected someone from outside the family to lead the privately-held company, but analysts seem torn on what it will mean. After all, it’s recently boosted sales and global market share under Ferrero, the grandson of the company’s founder. And Civiletti is hardly an outsider, having been a veteran of Ferrero and familiar with the business and the candy industry.
The Wall Street Journal said Ferrero currently ranks as the world’s No. 4 chocolate maker, according to Euromonitor. It is behind Mars, Mondelez and Nestlé, but ahead of Hershey and making significant gains on the others who are losing market share or not growing as fast.
Earlier this week, the company reported an 8% increase in sales from a year ago to $11 billion. The rise was fueled by growth in products such as Nutella and Rocher pralines, which sales of both especially strong in Europe. In 2013, Ferrero committed to increase annual sales by 2024 to around $17 billion.. It’s already invested heavily in new equipment and plant expansion to reach those goals.
The candy industry is widely believed to be ripe for consolidation. Mondelez last year tried to takeover Hershey, but the deal fell through due in part to complications regarding the candy maker's voting power and the local ties to the trust it funds. Ferrero is among the companies looking to grow by acquisition, and it recently acquired Fannie May Confections Brands in the U.S. Ferrero appears to be making the best move in its C-suite shuffle, keeping a family member closely involved with the business while naming a new leader who may lack the name but appears to know the business equally well.