Nestle Case Study

Nestle Case Study Summary In 1866 the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company was founded by a pair of American brothers, Charles and George Page, in Cham, Switzerland. The Page brothers intended to manufacture condensed milk that would be exported throughout the European region. In 1867, Henri Nestle created Ste Henri Nestle in Vevey, Switzerland. Nestle intended to produce infant food for consumers. The two companies began to compete with each other throughout the end of 1800’s. In 1905 Nestle and Anglo-Swiss merged and began to open processing plants all over the world. In 1929, Nestle merged with Peter-Cailler-Kohler, a very successful Swiss chocolate company. In the aftermaths of World War II, Nestle merged with Maggi, a large producer of packaged soups in Europe. The company continued to make acquisitions during the 1960’s and 1970’s. By 1982, Nestle had become the 25th largest international corporation outside of the United States. The company held operations in 75 countries.
Today, Nestle is one of the oldest multinational companies in the world. With revenues as high as $14 million, Nestle is one of the most well known food manufacturers world-wide. Since its creation, Nestle has adopted a “uniquely Swiss and neutral philosophy” as its business plan. The company planned to pursue global expansion by creating a number of local operating companies with their own local management. While the company maintained a large and influential central staff, Nestle relied on the local management in each local market to establish a strong brand to their specific region. Each of Nestle’s 75 operating companies was run by a country manager who was responsible for the profits and losses in the company. The local manager was also responsible for all the marketing, manufacturing, financial, and administrative functions. These local product managers were key for the company’s marketing strategy to be successful. The company also relied on a very strong central headquarters