Nestlé SA chief executive officer Mark Schneider’s unexpected exit raised concerns among investors about the outlook for profitability at the world’s largest food company, as it struggles to win back inflation-weary customers to premium brands.

After eight years as the CEO of the Swiss maker of Nespresso coffee and Purina pet foods, Schneider will be replaced by Latin America chief Laurent Freixe, Nestlé said late on Thursday.

The news came as a surprise given that Schneider was scheduled to appear at three different events next week, including a Barclays “fireside chat” promoted hours before the announcement. Analysts speculated that the exit may presage a cut in Nestlé’s financial guidance, and the stock fell as much as 4.1%.

The move raises questions around the degree of a second-half recovery in real internal growth, whether the 2025 margin guidance is kept, and if there can be any increase in productivity levels, Deutsche Bank analyst Tom Sykes wrote in a note.

Freixe told analysts on a call that the company will return to the topic of updating its financial goals when it holds a capital markets day in November. Nestlé currently targets an underlying operating margin of at least 17.5% for 2025.

Schneider is the latest consumer-goods boss to be shown the door, as companies struggle to coax shoppers back to premium brands after a period of high inflation and belt-tightening.

Just last week, Laxman Narasimhan lost his job as the CEO of Starbucks Corp after less than two years; he will be replaced by Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc chief Brian Niccol. Estee Lauder Cos CEO Fabrizio Freda plans to retire in 2025, after the cosmetics company ran into trouble in recent months. 

Last year, new bosses started at Dove soap maker Unilever plc, beleaguered infant-formula maker Reckitt Benckiser Group plc and Johnnie Walker whisky distiller Diageo plc, all of which are trying to win back investor confidence in an environment where interest rates remain high and shoppers continue to keep a tight grip on spending.

While retailers like Walmart Inc and Target Corp have adapted to more price-conscious shoppers, in part by pushing their offering of cheaper private-label goods, companies like Nike Inc have fallen behind.

“The [Covid-19] pandemic, the supply-chain disruptions, 50-year-high inflation, rapidly rising interest rates and the negative consumer sentiment effect have all conspired to create a difficult environment for the average consumer stock,” said Eric Clark, a portfolio manager at Accuvest Global Advisors. 

Until recently, Schneider was lauded by investors as the CEO who overhauled Nestlé, fending off a 2017 attack from activist investor Third Point. He initiated lucrative disposals of the Swiss company’s skin injectables business, low-margin bottled water brands in the US and some frozen products. 

Schneider focused on persuading consumers to pay more for premium versions of existing product lines, developing Nestlé’s offerings of coffee and pet food, while building up its health and wellness business. Nestlé also smoothly navigated the supply-chain struggles many companies faced in the pandemic, thanks to its localised production. 

Over the past couple of years, however, Schneider’s star began to fade. Nestlé has struggled to win back shoppers after the post-pandemic bout of inflation, repeatedly missing quarterly sales expectations. 

Schneider joined Nestlé after running pharmaceutical company Fresenius SE, but his interest in healthcare did not always work out at the KitKat maker. Last year, Nestlé took a US$2.10 billion writedown on its investment in a peanut allergy medicine called Palforzia. The head of its vitamins and supplements business was replaced after information technology problems caused supply shortages. 

In July, Nestlé trimmed its sales growth outlook for the year to at least 3%, lower than the roughly 4% previously targeted. Frozen food in the US proved to be a particular problem area because lower-income consumers are struggling to make ends meet. 

Not all the blame lies with the weak consumer, though. Nestlé has had problems at its vitamins unit - acquired in 2021 for US$5.75 billion. It has also suffered shortages in its water business in the last couple of years. Nestlé replaced long-time chief financial officer François-Xavier Roger earlier this year.

“Schneider did a good job when he came in making changes to the portfolio,” Donny Kranson, a portfolio manager at Vontobel Asset Management, said in an email. “More recently, however, the company has had some struggles, some self-inflicted and some a function of the external environment.”

Before the CEO announcement, the stock had climbed 22% since Schneider took over at the start of 2017, about half the gain that Unilever posted during the same span. The Anglo-Dutch rival’s prospects have improved under new CEO Hein Schumacher, even as Nestlé has started to fall behind.

“Certain things didn’t work; some acquisitions didn’t work,” Nestlé chairman Paul Bulcke said on a call with journalists. “But that’s inherent to running a company like this. I am looking at more of the dynamics of things and moving forward. And I don’t cry over spilled milk.”

Unlike Starbucks, Nestlé didn’t search for an outside candidate, choosing to go with someone who understands its culture. That suggests evolutionary changes rather than a radical shift from Schneider’s course. 

“Laurent Freixe has been at the company for decades,” Kranson said. “I would assume that there won’t be a major change to the strategy. What investors want to see from Nestlé is boring, consistent delivery of its targets, which it has not been able to achieve over the past several reporting periods.”

Freixe, who started at Nestlé in 1986, has spent 16 years as a member of the executive board, and did stints heading operations in Europe and the Americas. The 62-year-old said on a call with journalists that he will focus on “making sure that we live up to our promises and focus on winning in the marketplace”.

  - Bloomberg