National Brands vs. Private Label

 National-brand frozen food companies have been keeping an eye on the rear view mirror as private label sales have grown during the recession’s penny-pinching days. Store brands have made gains in several frozen categories. However, while tough times may have changed the shopping lists of some consumers, the times have not frozen out national brands, which continue to command 80 percent of frozen food sales.

In 2008, private label frozen foods represented one-fifth of total department sales of $29.4 billion (The Nielsen Co., 52 weeks ending Dec. 27, 2008). Over the past few years, statistics show store brands have increased their share in several frozen categories, including ice cream, desserts/fruits/toppings, juices, ice and, in particular, vegetables.

Grocers have followed private label sales increases with interest. “Categories where we have seen significant store-brand share growth include ice cream, vegetables, pizza, bread and dough products, toppings, and fruit,” says Chris Hardin, director of store brands for Tyler, Texas-based Brookshire Grocery Co. “Our store brands lead in volume in several categories, including fruit, ice cream and vegetables.”

“All private label categories are up, but ice cream is leading the charge,” notes Jack Wagner, center store frozen food business manager for Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets. Private label has a significant share in frozen juice, potatoes and vegetables, whipped topping, and pasta, according to Rick Benner, frozen foods category manager for Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spartan Stores. “There is strong growth in frozen potatoes and breakfast waffles — the major brands in both categories are experiencing growth as well,” he observes.

National brands continue to drive most frozen food categories. “Certainly, dinners/entrées, pizza, breakfast and frozen snacks are very much driven by national brands,” notes Spartan’s Benner. “Frozen pizza continues to be driven by Kraft, while frozen dinners and entrées are driven by Nestle and ConAgra,” says Marsh’s Wagner.

Growth of private label has caused some national brands to ramp up advertising or offer special deals to retailers. Other name-brand companies have decided instead to continue concentration on their own product lines. “Name-brand companies are definitely coming to the table with deeper deals in order to combat loss of share to store brands,” says Brookshire Grocery’s Hardin. “While we can’t divulge the actual deals, it is obvious that the growth of our own brands has created a healthy leverage with name brands.” Marsh’s Wagner concurs: “We have recently seen more aggressive, deeper deals from some brands, particularly in the ice cream category.” Spartan hasn’t seen national brands target the sales growth of private label brands, according to Benner.

Progressive Grocer asked frozen food manufacturers and industry experts for their perspective on how big brands and store brands are shaping the supermarket frozen food case today and what they think the future might hold.

menuggu saat bebas dari masalah!

Salam Sayang....

Dah lama rasanya tak jengah blog nie. As usual, alasan busy busy busy dengan audit. Oh audit! I love u but sometimes I hate U. Rasanya aku dah mula berminat buat audit compare to account. Kerana buat account ada je salah kita. Stress jugak bila ada orang check keje kita n muka mereka tak puas hati. Huh, menangis dalam hati je la. Tak apa lah, mungkin salah kita. Tapi cuma satu je, sebelum kte menilai salah orang, please try to understand dulu benda tu. Jangan main terjah je. Tengok dulu betul2. Ya, mungkin mereka banyak experience compare to aku yang masih terkapai2 lagi mencari skill. Takpe, bertahan. So bila dah buat audit baru aku dapat jawapannya mengapa mereka begitu. Orang yang check kerja orang lain akan sentiasa rasa dirinya betul! What a sombong! Huhu.

Reality, siapa je suka auditor kan? takde sape. Aku sendiri benci kalau orang audit kerja aku n ada je salah. Sebab manusia takkan lari dari kesilapan. Tapi tu lah realiti hidup, kita silap, orang tegur. Anyway segala kekusutan and penderitaan akan beransur pulih dalam masa seminggu lagi. Aku nak tinggalkan dunia akaun n audit! Tapi dalam masa terdekat je. After grad I've to face all that thing lagi. Huh, lepas ni dah tak ada istilah BOSAN. tak ada istilah nak quit sebab tak tahan dengan pressure kerja. Tak ada istilah nak quit sebab tak tahan dengan perangai orang di sekeliling. Semua tu dah tak boleh diterima pakai. Walau apa jua dugaan dan rintangan, I've to face. Terima segala masalah. Kata suka cabaran?? huhu. Aku memang suka cabaran tapi aku sedikit lemah dan mudah give up. SOMETIMES la. But, come on gurl. Aku dah cukup dewasa untuk menghadapai semua cabaran dengan tenang kan..

Dan hari ni aku tak tahu, aku terlalu excited sendiri. Sebab dah nak quit 30 jun ni. Maka berakhirlah segalanya buat sementara waktu ini. Oh indahnya. aku nak holiday sepuas2nya........
Dan 1 perkara lagi yang buat aku happy gila bila SEPAH menang maharaja lawak malam tadi .Dari dulu aku mmg fanatik gila kat diaorang dan dah kuat instinct mengatakan bahawa mereka memang menang eventhough ramai yang kata JOZAN akan menang. Huhu. Means, sangkaan aku betul lar. I heart SEPAH especially JEPPP!! Really funny bila tengok dia ajad Ustazah. Cantik pula tu. Memang terbaik lah!

tata...

Disebalik Tabir CocaCola "can" glass

CocaCola "can" glass

Tetiba nak story pasal CocaCola "can" glass yang mereka di luar sana dok sibuk nak memilikinya. Sebenarnya saya ni memang jarang tengok tv. Busy lah katakan. Masa harian adalah padah dengan kerja dan online sebelum tidur. Jadi manalah tahu sangat pasal advertisement la kan. Hatta, 29th April yang lalu, pergilah hang out dengan kawan. Kebetulan turun Batu Pahat, rumah kakak, then belanja member makan MCD. Dah order, dapat lah 3 glass tu. Erm, amek je la. Ngap ngup ngap ngup.. makan sambil berbual2 sebab lama dah tak jumpa. Time dah nak balik member kata, nak mintak glass tu. Dalam hati berkata "amboi, dah aku belanja, glass pun ko nak, dah bagi betis nak peha pula". Dalam hati je la... Luaran masih melemparkan senyuman yang begitu ikhlas, "owh, nak ke, boley2". Nah cenderahati buat korang.". Buat wafi and hamzi.

sorang dapat 1

Maka majlis pun bersurai la. Lega lah saya dah dapat belanja si wafi, classmate saya tu. Kalau tak asyik tuntut tak sudah, nak mintak belanja. Dah balik ke rumah, masih tak heran langsung pun dengan glass tu. Letak je la. Keesokan harinya, pulang la ke rumah dengan selamba tak ingat langsung nak membawa glass tu. 

On 2nd of May, bila naik kerja my colleague cerita lah pasal glass coce tu. Dia teringin nak p mcd nak dapatkan glass tu. Saya kata saya dah ada 1 dah. Black color. Tapi saya xde perasaan pape pun dapat glass tu. Lar.. dia kata kan tegah promotion glass tu. Sudah.. Katak bawah glass aku jadinya. Tapi kira ok lar, aku tak tahu pape pasal promotion tu dah pun own that glass awal2 dah. Tapi malangnya, serupa je tak ada glass tu, sebab dah tertinggal kat Batu Pahat. 

Then, my colleague ajak lah pergi mcd lagi. Dia nak kumpul semua katanya. Saya layankan. Maka temankanlah dia. Dapatlah color biru. 

If u see anything weird in diz pic, pls ignore jer..... huhu

Tapi saya suka purple. Purple dah lepas. Dia kata adik lelaki dia ada color purple n nak tukar dengan saya punya yang color hitam. Ok, tapi kena tunggu kakak saya bawa balik glass tu dari Batu Pahat la. 

Plan untuk exchange antara satu sama lain....

Unfortunately, saya dapat bad news yang glass hitam saya dah pun dikeluarkan dari kotak malah digunakan oleh anak saudara saya. Bertuah punya budak.. Dia buat minum sudah.. Maka cancel lah segala agreement dengan rakan tadi tu. Saya tak de lah kecewa pun. Sebab saya memang xde keinginan dari awal2 lagi terhadap objek ni. haha. Rakan saya tu sedikit upset la, sebab adik dia memang nak sangat color hitam. Sebab dia nak beli pun dah sold out masa tu. 

Nak dijadikan cerita tengah2 malam ni, tadi saya kemas2 bilik saya yang agak messy ni. Ternampak glass biru yang tiada maknanya dalam hidup saya. Saya tak tahu nak letak kat mana. Then saya terfikir. objek ni ditutup oleh kotak yang masih lagi boleh nampak dalam dia. Maka.... saya boleh meletakkan sesuatu di dalamnya. Ting!!!!! I got an idea.... Saya ambil coins saya yang menyemak kat dalam purse saya. saya cuba insert ke dalam glass itu. Owh, ada nilai murni juga apa yang saya lakukan ni. Okey, I got another idea. Saya ambil pisau, saya buat 1 hole untuk insert the coins.

 Tapi......macam tak berapa effective kerana ini kaca. Jika kaca bertemu besi, takut kesan buruk menanti. 

Urm.. saya cari bahan yang mengurangkan kedap bunyi untuk prevent bunyi yang keterlaluan bila insert the coin.Spounge! Ok i got it. Ambil yang nipis jer. Buat bentuk circle n masukkan lah kat bawah glass tu. Kurang lah bunyi bising bila insert the coins. Outcome seperti di bawah:

Jadi motif yang cuba saya sampaikan adalah:

Jangan mensia-siakan apa yang kita miliki. Walau kita tak de perasaan kat benda tu, carilah alternative lain untuk kita memuliakannya. Setiap apa yang kita miliki pasti ada kebaikannya. Jadi saya tak lah biarkan glass ni merata2 tanpa digunakan. Dan saya jadikan ia temporary port untuk coins saya. Saya memang pengumpul 50 cent, but now saya mix kan dengan 20 cent. So, daripada buat hiasan jer, xde hasil la kawan2. Kalau kawan2 insert coin 50 cent jer, bayangkan, 1 glass penuh kita estimate RM50 atau kuang sikit la. Kalau anda ada 6 koleksi glass dah berapa?? Ala baru berapa kan.. Setakat dua tiga ratus, 2 hari kerja dah dapat. Berlagaknyer. Tak baik begitu. Jangan pandang remeh dengan coins. Kawan saya pengumpul 50 cent yang tegar. dari dia kecil lagi. Kawan2 tahu berapa jumlah coin 50 cent dia now? Saya pun tak tahu, tapi setahu saya coin 50 cent dia dah satu guni sebesar tong gas. Dia collect dari kecil sampai lah la ni umur dah cecah 30-an. Jadi saya nak jadi macam dia even though dah jauh terlambat. Huhu! 

Okey, itu saja penyampainya. thx sudi luangkan masa untuk cerita kosong ni..Hehe

AKU YANG AKAN KAU NIKAHI HANYALAH WANITA BIASA

Kepadamu yang akan menjadi pendampingku kelak..

Terima kasih karena telah memilihku di antara ribuan bidadari di luar sana

yang siap untuk kau pilih..

Padahal kau begitu tahu, aku hanya wanita biasa,

yang sangat jauh dari sempurna.

Karenanya ku ingin kau tahu,

aku bukan wanita yang sempurna,

aku begitu banyak kekurangan.

Maka ketahuilah..

Kepadamu yang akan memilihku kelak..

Aku tak sebijak bonda khadijah,

karenanya ku ingin kau tahu,

aku boleh saja berbuat salah dan begitu menyebalkan.

Maka ku mohon padamu, bijaklah dalam menghadapiku,

jangan marah padaku,

nasihati aku dengan hikmah,

karena bagiku kaulah pemimpinku,

tak akan berani ku membangkang padamu..

Duhai kau yang telah memilihku kelak..

Ingatlah, tak selamanya aku dapat nampak cantik di matamu,

ada kalanya aku akan begitu kusam dan jelek.

Mungkin karena aku begitu sibuk di dapur,

menyiapkan makan untuk kau dan mujahid dn mujahidah kita nanti

–insya’Allah-.

Maka aku akan tampak kotor dan berbau asap.

Atau karena seharian ku harus membenahi istana kecil kita,

agar kau dan mujahid dn mujahidah kita dapat tinggal dengan nyaman dan sihat.

Maka mungkin aku tak sempat berdandan untuk menyambutmu sepulang bekerja..

maka tegurlah aku, dan khabarkan padaku dengan lemah lembut dan bijaksana...

Ataukah kau akan menemukanku tersenguk-senguk saat mendengar keluhan dan ceritamu,

bukan karena aku tak suka menjadi tempatmu menumpahkan segala rasa,

tapi karena semalam saat kau tertidur dengan nyenyak,

aku tak sedetikpun tertidur karena harus menjaga mujahid dn mujahidah kecil kita yang sedang sakit,

dan ku tau kau letih mengais rezeki untuk kami,

maka tak ingin ku mengusik sedikit pun lelapmu..

Jadi jika esok pagi kau mendapatiku begitu letih dan ada lingkaran hitam di mataku,

maka tetaplah tersenyum padaku,

karena kau adalah sumber kekuatanku..

Padamu yang menjadi nahkoda dalam hidupku kelak..

Ketahuilah, mungkin ada saatnya, aku tak sesabar Fatimah,

ada kalanya kau akan menemukanku begitu marah,

menangis dan tak terkawal,

bukan karena ku membangkang padamu,

tapi aku hanya wanita biasa,

aku juga memerlukan tempat untuk menumpahkan beban di hatiku,

tempat untuk melepaskan penatku,

dan mungkin saat itu aku tak menemukanmu,

atau kau begitu sibuk dengan pekerjaanmu,

maka bersabarlah,

yang aku perlukan hanya pelukan dan belaianmu..

Karena bagiku kau adalah titisan embun yang mampu memadamkan segala resahku..

Ataukah ada kalanya tanganku akan mencubit dan

memukul pelan si kecil karena lelah dan penatku di tambh rengekannya yang tak habis-habisnya.

Sungguh bukan karena ku ingin menyakitinya,

tapi kadang aku kehabisan cara untuk menenangkan hatinya.

Maka jangan membentakku karena telah menyakiti buah hati kita,

tapi cukup kau usap kepalaku, dan bisikkan kata sayang di telingaku,

tegurlah aku dengan hikmah,

karena dengan itu ku tau kau selalu menghargai semua yang ku lakukan untuk kalian,

dan kau akan menemukanku menangis menyesali perlakuanku pada malaikat kita,

dan aku akan merasakan ribuan kali rasa sakit dari cubitan yang ku berikan padanya,

dan aku akan berjanji tak akan mengulanginya lagi..

Padamu yang menjadi imam dalam hidupku kelak..

Ketahuilah, aku tak secerdas Siti Aisyah..

Maka jangan pernah bosan mengajariku,

membimbingku ke arah-Nya,

walau terkadang aku begitu bebal dan bodoh,

tapi jangan pernah letih mengajariku..

Jangan segan membangunkanku di sepertiga malam untuk

bersamamu bermunajat pada Kekasih yang Maha Kasih..

Jangan letih mengingatkanku untuk terus bersamamu mendulang pahala dalam amalan-amalan sunnah..

Bimbing tanganku ke JannahNya,

agar kau dan aku tetap bersatu di dalamnya.

Padamu yang menjadi kekasih hati dan teman dalam hidupku..

Seiring berjalannya waktu,

kau akan menemukan rambutku yang dulu hitam legam dan indah,

akan menipis dan memutih.

Kulitku yang bersih akan mulai keriput.

Tanganku yang halus akan menjadi kasar..

Dan kau tak akan menemukanku sebagai wanita cantik,

yang kau khitbah puluhan tahun yang lalu..

Bukan wanita muda yang selalu menyenangkan matamu..

Maka jangan pernah berpaling dariku..

Karena satu yang tak pernah berubah,

bahkan sejak dulu akan terus bertambah dan kian membuncah,

yaitu rasa cintaku padamu..

Ketahuilah..

Tiap harinya, tiap jam, minit dan detiknya,

telah aku lewati dengan selalu jatuh cinta padamu..

Maka, cintailah aku,

dengan apa adanya aku..

Jangan berharap aku menjadi wanita sempurna..

Maafkan aku karena aku bukan puteri..

Aku hanya wanita biasa....

Terimalah aku apa adanya dan bimbinglah aku menuju jalanNYA.....

Semoga kita bisa sama-sama bahagia...

  

Lagu Jiwang Oleh Budak Kecik

nice voice. Dah besar mesti suara sedap budak ni. comel pula tu..

Minding our language

Proficiency in English is vital in today's world and Malaysia needs to arrest the decline urgently if it wants to remain competitive.

IT used to be easy for Malaysian students in Britain to get a part-time job or internship there.

An Engineering lecturer at a local public university who only wants to be known as Mar recalls how it was back then.

“Mention you are Malaysian and you will get one foot in the door. I remember one manager saying, Ah, we like Malaysians. They can speak English well, have no problem understanding instructions, not like other foreign students.'

“In fact, we spoke better English then than most Europeans. But, of course, that was in the 1980s.”

It was a different story when she went back to the UK to do her postgraduate studies in the late 1990s, she says.

“My thesis supervisor kept moaning about how the new batch of Malaysian students could not write or speak English well. He kept asking me what happened.”

The declining standard of English among the young in Malaysia has been well documented. For many years, many concerned stakeholders from employers, educationists and linguists to parents have voiced their concern.

However, with English being an important language of knowledge and global competition now, the need to arrest this decline has never been more urgent.

Recently, even former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamadreturned to the English soapbox, urging young Malaysians to master the language if they did not want to be left behind.

Steady decline

According to former Human Resource Minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, the decline in English among the young has been happening for more than two decades.

He relates his experience as an external examiner for Utar for Economics and Accountancy.

“In the 1980s, the standard of English in most of the answer scripts was still good but in the 1990s, there was a marked decline, so much so the examiners agreed to only assess the facts and leave the writing style and grammar alone. If they had marked the language as well, many of the students would have had low marks.”

While the declining standard of English in the country can mainly be attributed to policies that have not emphasised it in the education system, what is surprising is the lack of interest among the young to master the language, notes Dr Fong.

“Students need to realise that when they go out into the world, English is important and unless they brush up their skills, they will lock themselves from a big source of information and the latest developments in knowledge.”

Recently, the Higher Education Ministry's plans to increase the number of credit hours in English on campus were met with opposition from some students.

At Universiti Malaya, a group of students even called vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ghauth Jasmon a traitor for pushing for English and sent him a memorandum demanding for an apology and his resignation.

During his tenure as minister, says Dr Fong, the main complaint from employers was the standard of English among graduates.

This is confirmed by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).

“The communication problem among school leavers, especially in English either in oral communication or writing is the biggest grouse among employers,” says MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan.

Various surveys on graduates' employability have found that English is their main weakness: many cannot speak or write proper English (Higher Education Ministry Survey 2008; World Bank Report 2005 on Malaysia Firm Competitiveness, Investment Climate and Growth among others).

This, he believes, is one reason they have difficulty getting jobs in the private sector.

Highlighting the Salary Survey for Executives 2010, which showed good communication skills as the main attribute sought by employers (68%), Shamsuddin says employers preferred to hire staff who could communicate well in English as globalisation has changed the current nature of jobs.

Today's workers have to deal with foreign companies and clients from all over the world, where the main language of communication is English.

“Today, we are not just talking about being proficient. Work demands have changed; you need to sell your company's products.

“In the old days, if you didn't want to talk so much, you could take courses like engineering. You just needed to do your work without talking to people. Now, even if you become an engineer, you will need to talk to clients and normally the common language is English,” he adds.

Shamsuddin describes students who oppose the use of English as being in denial.

“They refuse to see the importance of being proficient in the language. Instead of embracing it, they are saying it is not important.”

Malcolm Poole, director of multinational recruitment agency MRI Network Sdn Bhd, says a large firm or multinational is definitely more likely to hire an individual with better English communication and written skills.

“Employers look for talented people who can grow with the company, so business-level English becomes not just a preference, it makes it a must-have,” Poole explains.

With English being widely used by the business community both in Malaysia and internationally, it is important for Malaysian workers to master the language, notes Melissa Norman, managing director of Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd, one of the top headhunter agencies in the country.

She highlights the Kelly Global Workforce Index survey released in 2010, which also revealed communication skills as one of the top five most desired skills within the corporate sector.

The ability to converse adeptly in English has become a valued asset in today's world, reinforcing the importance of mastering English, stresses Norman.

But, she laments, “In today's labour market, waning communication skills are among some of the unspoken concerns among employers.”

The agency has found that an average of six out of 10 Malaysian graduates could not communicate effectively in English during interviews, she says.

“We have encountered many graduates who cannot speak or write proper English. Many are not able to transfer their academic knowledge or articulate their thoughts during interviews due to poor command of English and this has cost them jobs in the corporate sector.”

Graduates here also commonly make gross grammatical errors in their resumes, and some even use text messaging slang in their job applications, Norman adds.

The price of ignorance

Someone who knows too well the language problems among the younger workforce is Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur.

“In manufacturing, proficiency in English may not be as important as for someone working in the legal or financial field but we still need people who can communicate well because sometimes we need to send people out to negotiate deals and get contracts signed. If they cannot communicate well in English, we will lose out,” says Mustafa.

Unfortunately, many of the younger workers are not able to conduct a simple conversation in English, he laments.

“This leads to them having low confidence in using the language so they don't get involved in the discussions during meetings because they are afraid to talk.”

It makes them appear as “not as intelligent as they might be”, adds Dr Fong.

“Local employers complain that when our graduates attend interviews, meetings or conferences, they cannot put across their ideas, so they are made to look less smart when actually, knowledge-wise, they are comparable to any graduate from the rest of the world.”

Lacking in communication skills is no longer acceptable in today's world, Shamsuddin stresses.

“Basically, before the advent of the Internet and ICT, we (business community) communicated by letter. It took some time, so those who were not proficient in the language could ask someone who was more fluent to write their letters and notes.”

Now, correspondence is immediate, direct and fast. “So, you need to be proficient. If you cannot communicate in English, then possibly it will be some time before you can get a reply out and you will lose out in today's world.”

It is also essential for young workers to keep up with the latest developments in knowledge especially in science and technology, and unless they know another foreign language Mandarin, German, or Japanese for example the young need to know English, adds Shamsuddin.

“English is the language of knowledge as well as of the Internet. There is translation but it will take some time and before they can reach the targeted audience, the knowledge would have changed.”

More importantly, he adds, when employers recruit someone, they expect the new employee to hit the ground running and contribute straight away.

“They cannot afford to hire someone who is not able to communicate well. It is costly.”

Across the board

While the worry is over graduates and undergraduates, says FMM pastpresident Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, there is an even bigger group that needs to be addressed.

“We need to be reminded that the vast majority of school leavers who are not equipped with a satisfactory level of competency in English enter the labour market and are mainly absorbed into the services, manufacturing and public sector, including as teachers of our young in schools.”

Yong, who is also co-chair of Pemudah (Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business), reminds that effective communication is crucial not only in the corporate and business world but also in the government sector.

Long a moot point, particularly for those in the diplomatic circle, the opening of borders due to the advent of technology means that more and more public sector workers need to interact as global citizens.

We need civil servants who can articulate Malaysia's stand on issues internationally, including conducting negotiations on important agreements such as trade agreements, says Yong.

“Civil servants today do not only need to interact with overseas customers, visiting experts or delegations but must also attend overseas conferences, seminars as well as trade and technical fairs, all of which are in English.

“Their low proficiency in English has affected Malaysia's ability to compete in global markets as well as a destination for investment,” argues Yong.

Mustafa agrees, saying: “We are losing out in the global arena. We definitely need more good communicators who can negotiate for better trade deals and investments. As it is, our global competitiveness is low.”

More worrying, says Dr Fong, is we are even losing out to our neighbours who seem to have improved their level of English in the last decade.

“Our representatives used to be first choice to head committees at international events. But I have noticed that at many international events I attended, representatives from Thailand, Indonesia and China are beating us as they speak better English.”

Source: The Star