“We found we needed to focus to compete,” said Eckes CEO, Herbert Verse. “Margins have been reduced by the expanding chains and big discounters. There have also been a lot of mergers which allow competitors to feed more money into big advertising campaigns.”
GERMANY: Eckes to pull out of alcoholic drinks
The German juice and spirits company, Eckes Group, has announced that it is to pull out of the alcoholic drinks business. The company said it expected to improve profitability by concentrating on its fruit juice and nectars business, with the spirits arena becoming increasingly competitive.