WEBVTT - Broadcasting from The Bloomberg Year Ahead 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:03.040 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carol Masser and I'm 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:05.560 Jason Kelly. We're here every day bringing you the latest 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:09.880 news from the world of business and finance, plus technology, politics, economics, 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.520 all harnessing the power of Bloomberg Business Week reporters and editors, 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:16.840 not to mention our journalists and analysts more than a 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:19.599 hundred and twenty countries. You can download Bloomberg Business Week 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:22.480 on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot com. You can also 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:24.920 listen to our radio show weekdays at two pm Eastern 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:27.520 only on Bloomberg Radio. Here at the Year Ahead Summit 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.240 at Bloomberg WW, the company probably known as Weight Watchers 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:34.199 continuing to undergo a transformation. Really thanks to the company's 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.159 president CEO, Mindy Grossman and her team, they're getting a 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.360 big brand relaunch in twenty nine, a marketing campaign featuring 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.400 its third largest shareholder and board member Oprah Winfrey. I 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:46.040 caught up with Mindy at the summit to talk about 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:49.800 brands with purpose and how this brand transformation differs from 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.360 the brand she am impacted before. We're talking about brands 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:55.080 like HS and Nike, Raff Lauren and more. Listen up, 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:57.680 you know on one hand, there are a lot of 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:02.200 similarities to transformation, and particularly of a legacy brand that 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:04.919 has had such meaning to people for so many years 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:10.600 um and this idea of moving forward but retaining the 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:12.800 beauty of that legacy and what the brand stands for. 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:17.560 So there's similarities. The difference is that this is not 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.839 an exercise in only a financial return on the impact, 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.360 although that is critical. The reality is if we accomplish 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:29.000 what we believe we want to accomplish and what has 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:32.560 to be accomplished, the return on human equity will be 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:36.479 so powerful that it becomes not just the fact that 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:40.000 we've got permission to be more in people's lives. We 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:43.400 feel we have a responsibility to do what it is 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:45.920 we're trying to do. And it goes back to the 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:49.640 comment you made about solving the paradox um and it 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.520 really heightened to me. I was in Italy at the 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:55.280 Global Wellness Summit and they presented the white paper on 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:58.680 how the global wellness economy has gone from three point 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.000 seven trillion to four point two trillion, and everybody was clapping. 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:06.040 But the reality is there's not a single marker anywhere 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:09.320 in the world that shows we're getting healthier and if 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:13.239 we do not do something. For example, today's millennial will 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:16.000 be the most obest generation in history. In today's two 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:18.600 year old has a better chance of not being healthy 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:20.920 than being healthy. And then if you look at the 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:25.080 gap in underserved communities, it's that much more dramatic. So 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.919 as a culture and as an organization, you know, this 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:33.480 evolution for us of not abdicating our position is the 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:37.200 best healthy eating and weight loss program on the planet, 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.639 because that's really important, but really giving people much more 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:45.799 of an ecosystem to help them sustainably lead better lives 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:50.280 and change that trajectory. The word purpose comes up a 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:53.280 lot of mindy that every corporate decision is put through 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:57.160 a purpose filter, and that people crave purpose. So this 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:01.079 underlines everything that you do. So I not only does 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.160 it underline everything we do. I think any brand today 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:08.079 that does not truly believe that there has to be 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:10.160 a purpose at their core and it has to be 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:13.280 relevant for your brand, I think is going to have 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:17.600 a challenge having long term sustainable success because you want 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:21.560 to attract talent, uh, you want to retain talent, You 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:25.480 want to create meaning with consumers. And you know, I've 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.000 spoken a lot how the brands of the future are 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:30.760 going to have to marry technology plus meaning to help 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:35.600 people lead more connected, fulfilled lives UM and I started 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:40.320 writing on building a culture of purpose UM, and you 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:42.960 have to define what that is for your brand, you know. 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:47.480 For for our company, it's very obvious UM. And so 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.240 everyone that works there not only feels they have a job, 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:53.280 but they really are having an impact on people's lives 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:56.840 and it really makes a very big difference, especially at 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:01.600 our underlying you know base where technology platform company, and 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:05.040 we are in the same fight for talent that everybody 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:09.080 else is, and that factor and that purpose factor, and 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:12.600 even especially moving forward is going to be very important. 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:14.520 Last year we talked I think at the end, I 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:15.800 was like, what are the things that are on your mind? 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.120 You talked about talent acquisition, and I know you are 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:23.440 increasingly becoming a technology company and competing for those software 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.120 engineers that everybody else wants, So tell me a little 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.520 bit about that. That's still number one on your mind. Absolutely, yea. 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:33.120 So what we've done over the course of the last year, 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:35.880 first of all, table Stakes is that there has to 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:40.920 be exciting, interesting technology that people are working on right UM, 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:44.080 and we're doing so many new things, and our brand 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:50.120 has a different element of relevancy today. But we're really 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:54.080 getting out there and we are a technology, technology, platform, 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:59.200 experience company with this human centric overlay. UM. Last week 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.320 we just opened new offices in San Francisco and we're 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:06.679 making sure our environment and you know, we're attracting talent 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:11.440 and we have room to double our staff out there. UM. 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:13.680 And so we did a big event out there and 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:17.039 we'll continue to do that. UM. We've done a lot 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.680 of work around us as an employer brand to get 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:24.360 people to understand who we are today and recruiting on 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.880 college campuses. But I would say the real important thing 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:34.880 is culture and purpose married to exciting technology, because it's 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.960 a war for talent in these areas. UM. But we're 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:41.960 doing exciting things around everything from data to AI to 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:45.440 the utilization of technology, and that's how the word of 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:49.600 mouth is attracting. And then I'd say, lastly, diversity. We 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:55.120 have an unusually diverse technology and product team and that 0:05:55.279 --> 0:05:59.880 attracts talent. All right. Of course that was president CEO 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.960 of w W Mindy Grossman. I want to point out, 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:06.200 Jason I was reading in last night this morning, JP Morgan, 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.720 there Alice came out this week said the company's valuation 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:12.120 is significantly decoupled from its earnings growth reality, pointing out 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:18.440 the company's earnings growth opportunity in because the stock rallied 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:21.320 when Oprah got involved, rallied when Mindy got involved. Has 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:24.360 had quite a run, but it has pulled back significantly 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:27.839 from its highs. And this Alice saying it's undervalued. But 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.120 it was fun to talk to people after we had 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:33.279 our conversation. I'm sure you're experiencing this where people are saying, 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:37.039 she's onto something, building these platforms that are hopefully sticky 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:40.880 and that become a part of a person's life, you know, 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:43.240 where they check it constantly, just like we all check 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:47.080 whether it's social media, whether it's you know what have you? Well, listen, 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:51.000 it's a lifestyle brand for sure. If I should say, 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.600 if they can make it a lifestyle brand, yes, it's 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:56.279 a whole new world. It's an entirely new world. But 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:58.960 it's not something you do. It's who you are. And 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:00.880 we talked a lot about that when it comes to 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:03.280 fitness and wellness, and and that does seem to be 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:13.280 uh the holy grail. All right, Well, anyone who listens 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:15.600 to this program on any sort of regular basis. Knows 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.160 I love talking about private equity. I've been looking at 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:21.280 it for a long time. Antoindrian, he is an old friend, 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:26.040 Chairman of Triago, founder of Palico, really at the heart 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:30.120 of private equity fundraising especially. We've talked a lot over 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:32.720 the years. Antoine. It's great to see you here in 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:35.119 New York. You're all over the world. We're really glad 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:38.240 you stopped by to see us here on Bluemberg Business Week. 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:41.360 So what is the state of private equity right now? 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:45.760 Money seems to still be pouring in to this asset class. 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:47.640 Is that going to go on for a while? I 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:49.800 think it will go on for a while. I guess 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:54.200 the major reason is that most of the investors out 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:59.240 there are now understanding that private equity delivers great returns 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:02.280 and these actually not that risky at least as long 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:04.400 as you make the right choices when it comes to 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:09.400 general partners. They also understand that liquidity is not that bad. 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.560 You know that there is a pretty active secondary market now, 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:16.360 and all of this means that there is more There 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:19.400 are more people looking at this asset class and investing 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:22.360 in it. And so how much do you worry about 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:26.960 that sort of wall of that that wall of capital, 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:29.480 you know, the dry powder. It's measured in trillions of 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:32.360 dollars at this point. How much pressure does that put 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:34.840 on these managers to put money to work. Well, depending 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.880 on who you're talking about, obviously, private equity is just 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:41.960 it is not just one uh, you know, strategy, and 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:45.320 you have many strategies in the asset class. Some people 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:48.200 do feel pressure in some areas you have like a 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.080 hundred groups for one asset. I mean, obviously these people 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.400 may lose some discipline when it comes to buying, but 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.400 I think that overall, people in this asset class know 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:01.040 what they're doing. And if you look at many casualties 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:04.720 there has been after Lehman, actually it's not that bad. 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:08.040 Probably que saved a lot of you know, a lot 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:10.520 of money to everyone, But at the end of the day, 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:12.880 it's it's actually it wasn't a blood bath. And so 0:09:13.000 --> 0:09:14.800 as you talk to these managers, you know, I've just 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:16.679 spent some time with John Gray. We're gonna hear more 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:19.439 from him later in the show. President of Blackstone, you know, 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.240 talking about valuations at least on the public side, starting 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.040 to come off a little excuse me a little bit. 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.559 What do you see, uh, in terms of valuations and 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:31.880 dealmaking as we head into twenty nineteen. Uh, it looks 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:36.480 like they're they're pretty stable right now, at least here 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:40.000 in the US and in Europe. Uh. They may actually 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:42.839 go down a little bit if if markets are are 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:47.040 going down. There is some sort of correlation. Obviously not 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:50.840 a high one, but there is one. So so we'll see. 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.559 But I think it's still, you know, fairly valued at 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.800 this point. And in terms of where the money is 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:59.040 coming from and going into these private equity funds. How 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:01.000 has the mixed change over the years? You know, public 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:03.920 pensions for were for a long time, US public pensions 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:07.840 were the biggest contributor, are the biggest investor um. Sovereign 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:10.360 wealth has come on pretty strong. Family offices have come 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:13.240 on strong. How is that mix changing? It's now a 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:17.480 lot of very different investors. When I started twenty six 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:19.880 years ago in this business, most of the people were 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.280 in this country, and you were right. I mean, you're right, 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.600 most of them were pension funds. Today you have investors 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:29.160 pretty much all over the world. There are fifteen thousand 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:33.319 of them now. Uh. And of course the family piece 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.960 is now a big one, and it will it will 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:39.720 most probably grow. And the third third big space that 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:42.920 could grow is actually the retail investors. I mean there 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:47.280 are there will be more retail investors in the Sunset class. 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.280 I'm so glad you brought that up, because that seems 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:52.800 to be the holy grail for especially some of these 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:55.600 bigger managers, the big publicly traded guys like a black Stone, 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:59.439 a KKR, a Carlisle. How realistic is that that we 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:03.679 really wealth see a robust retail effort in private equity. 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.600 I think it is very realistic. The question is is when? 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:11.480 But it is p a great asset class. Yes, if 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:15.360 it works for institutions, why shouldn't it work for uh, 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.000 you know, everyone on the street. I think that everyone 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:21.280 is a candidate for eight ten percent a year returned, right, 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:25.280 whether you're a huge pension fund or or Joshmo on 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:29.160 the street, I mean you don't, you don't, doesn't really matter. Uh, 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:31.840 So there is there will be demand. Now, the question 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.400 is more liquidity, right, I think that's that's the big, 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.640 big question. When you're a pension fund and you have 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:43.000 money for ever almost you can take the risk of 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:46.640 being you know, locked for ten years Uh, if you're 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:50.000 a person and you could need the money in a 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.240 few weeks, then there's an issue. So I mean, obviously 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.160 I think that retail investors won't put you know, everything 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:58.480 in this asset class. But at least there should be 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:01.760 a better liquidity team mechanism, even better than today. It's 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:04.720 not bad, but then than today, to make sure that 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.480 these people can actually used private equity for their own accounts. 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.560 So thirty seconds left and maybe a little bit less. 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:13.760 Are we gonna see a big retail push in nineteen 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:15.440 or is it further out than that? I think it's 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:17.840 not nineteen. I mean some people thought it would be 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:20.959 seventeen eighteen. I'm not sure it's going to be nineteen, 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:22.920 but it's growing and it should be, you know, maybe 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:25.560 twenty or twenty one. I'm talking about the big wave, 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:28.600 but not not this thing, not the trickle, the big wave. 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:32.640 Antoine Dron chairman of Triago, founder of Palico. Based in Paris, 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:36.959 but here with me in our Bloomberg headquarters in New York. 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:46.520 Always great to catch up with you. You don't get 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:49.400 a lot of chances to listen to that song, uh 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:54.160 these days, But snacks they're a big business model a 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.319 CEO Dirt Vanderputt is joining me here at the Year 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.840 Ahead summit. Dirt, great to be with you. You were 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:03.800 up stairs participating in a panel uh part of the 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:07.720 Year Ahead summing. Let's talk about snacks a little bit. 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:12.080 We're sitting here in the Bloomberg pantry, snacks all around us. 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:16.600 But it feels like we're more conscious these days about 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:19.960 what we're putting into our bodies, even when it comes 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.000 to snacks. So how do you deal with that as 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:26.120 a snack maker? Well, um, you need to offer the 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:30.160 variation that the consumer wants. Um, it is clear that 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:33.640 the consumer is much more conscious about what they eat. 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:38.160 And in fact it is is not so that the 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:41.559 same consumer there's always the same thing. They do different things. 0:13:41.600 --> 0:13:44.320 It depends of the moment and how they feel and 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:48.560 so on. And as a company that obliges us to 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:54.319 go from very healthy snacks to more indulgent oriented snacks. 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:57.600 And and how's business right now globally? Where do you 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:01.360 see kind of the pockets of opportunity? You know, that's 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:03.720 been sort of a big question at the Year Ahead 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:07.680 writ large. Is you know, as the as we get 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:10.800 longer and longer into this bowl market as we've had 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:15.160 a very healthy global economy and certainly here in the US. UH, 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:18.520 where do you see the biggest opportunities around the world. 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:23.160 I would say the longer term, um, the emerging markets 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.000 are clearly where where most of the opportunity lies in 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.720 the snacking business. Short term that's still the case, but 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.640 I would say for it's just North America, the markets 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.160 that we are in biscuits, chocolate, candy, and so on 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.720 are showing some some pretty good growth, much better than 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:40.400 the previous years. So you can feel the confidence from 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.760 the consumer and and and the fact that there is 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.760 a little bit of momentum. So at this stage it's 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.960 it's developed being and developed markets both are doing quite well. 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:53.080 And how do you see that plane going into nineteen? 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:55.760 It feels like That's the other big existential question is 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:59.960 does that consumer confidence play through nineteen or we started 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.400 to see signs and maybe some caution. At this moment, 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:05.760 we don't see those signs. I feel a bit more 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.120 caution on the business side. Those business people are a 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:10.960 bit more worried about what could come. But from a 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:16.880 consumer's perspective, we see the momentum continue. Um, there's there's 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:20.120 signs around the world that that the momentum in other 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.720 countries also is continued. So I don't expect from a 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:27.600 consumer's perspective that nineteen will be a year where there's 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:30.320 a big change in their attitude. I don't see it 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:33.520 at the moment. So speaking globally, you obviously see opportunities 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:35.920 both for consumers but also to build your business, maybe 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.280 expand your business. We've talked a lot today about maybe 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:43.040 some valuations coming down. Is that present a buying opportunity 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.560 for you, maybe pick up some assets here and there. 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:50.880 Um yeah, yes, of course. Um our strategy is to 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:53.640 be the biggest snacking player around the world, and as 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:55.680 you can imagine, we still have a lot of white 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:57.880 spaces where we can do that. We do that through 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:00.080 a combination of launching our own products and try to 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.160 grow like that. But if the right opportunity presents itself 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:06.320 at the right financial conditions, and we always try to 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:08.960 take a discipline approach, of course, then we will certainly 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:13.440 do that. Are there specific areas that make more sense 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:19.600 to buy rather than launch, Um, yes, if you are 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.680 seeing something that is a strong position, if there's a 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.760 company that's a strong position in the market, a strong brand, 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:31.080 growing nicely. It would be probably very expensive to go 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:32.960 against that brand, and if you would be able to 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.320 partner or buy, that would be the best solution to 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:39.040 my opinion. Kellogg, for instance, is getting out of some 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.520 of its businesses. Is that somewhere you you might shop. Um, 0:16:42.760 --> 0:16:46.040 we look at any opportunity. I don't particularly think that 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.160 this one's in our biscuit position already in North America, 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.520 that that's immediately going to be something for us, But 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.840 we will evaluate everything that that that goes on for sure. 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.600 And as you think about your business, obviously a question 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:02.640 that comes to every CEO's to global ceo is cost shipping, 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.600 especially given the trade world, the new trade world. Shall 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:08.320 we say that we are living in of late How 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:12.200 is that affecting your cost in and ultimately your bottom line? Um? 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:15.480 It is, Uh, it is affecting our costs and the 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:17.720 consequence of that is that we will have to price 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:20.840 a little bit more than normal. The effect we see 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.479 going into nineteen as it relates to inflation on our 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:26.119 input cost is a bit higher than it was in 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:29.560 the previous years. And but at the same time the 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:33.080 consumer confidence is there, so increasing prices a little bit. 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:37.520 I think is doable at this stage um UM. We 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:41.040 will not be affected in our bottom line. Um Our 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.159 bottom line next year will be not that aggressive because 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:46.280 we have decided that we will do more investment in 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:49.600 our brands and innovation and our route the market. So 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:51.920 so we're a little bit in an investment next year, 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:54.000 but that's not because of our cost that's because of 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:57.600 the investments that we're making. So you have you've had 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:00.720 a fascinating career. You worked at Group don Own, you 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.359 worked at Coca Cola, you worked at McCain Foods up 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:06.680 in uh Canada. As you look as you think about 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:08.760 that experience, you look at where we are, you know, 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:11.400 in the in the world right now, what's the biggest 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:16.919 opportunity kind of across the world of food, the biggest 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:20.600 opportunity or the winner will be the company that can 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:24.399 understand and a company the consumer where she or he 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.399 is going. There's so much change taking place and you 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:31.480 refer to it that it's become the old recipe doesn't 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:36.080 work anymore. One big global brand that is so all 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:37.920 over the world that I don't I don't believe in 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:40.000 the restuming animal. So you need to adapt, you need 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:42.399 to be on top of the consumer and quickly changed 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:44.960 with the consumer needs the company that can do that, 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.480 I think we'll win. And do you see like a 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:51.119 cannabis or something like that, you know, being something that 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.480 you might be interested in, certainly seems to be getting 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:56.679 a lot of attention. Well, we certainly will look at it. 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.920 We're not not gonna say no. But at the same time, 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:03.280 we make orioles, we make chips. You will not see 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:06.600 a canna misinfused oreo with coming through the market. Well, 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:09.520 I'm sure there we have some disappointed listeners out there 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:13.040 hearing that news. All right, Dirk vanderbut thank you so much, 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.160 Chief executive officer of Mondel. He's based in Deerfield, Illinois, 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:18.639 but here with us at Bloomberg Headquarters as part of 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:20.439 the Year Ahead Somewhe great to spend some time. We 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:35.800 can usually appreciate it. Yeah, we're talking sploring. Go figure 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:39.080 right wait what wait? What perfect guest to do that with. 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:41.359 Don Cornwell is with us. He's partner at p j 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:45.080 T Partners, participating in our Bloomberg Your HEEAD summit here 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:46.919 at Bloomberg Headquarters. In fact, he's gonna be part of 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:49.240 a panel later today on the high stakes of sports betting. 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:51.040 Nice to have you here with us, Good to be here. 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:53.119 There is so much going on. Where do you want 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:55.000 to start? What do you find most interesting when you 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:57.440 look at the sports world? Is it sports? Media? Is 0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:01.240 it E sports? Is it so different things? What it was? 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:03.840 I mean right now E sports and gaming are the 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:06.760 two areas I'm spending the most time in. But the 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:10.560 convergence of all these things, the media companies, the gaming companies, 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:13.240 the league's you're seeing just so much activities. So let's 0:20:13.240 --> 0:20:15.520 talk about the sports for a second. Because Jim Coulter, 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:17.119 you know, gave a sort of his view of the 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:19.359 world for twenty nineteen earlier this morning. One thing he 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:22.000 didn't actually get to talk to the audience about, but 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.520 I talked to him about on the sidelines was E 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:29.440 sports is a highly investable area. Where is the money 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:31.520 to be made there at this moment A lot of 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:34.640 different places. So you're seeing lots of capital come into 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:37.240 the teams themselves, the franchises, right, And I didn't what 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:39.480 Activision Blue first of all, the idea of like an 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:42.200 E sports team, like these are teams that people playing 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:44.639 video games teams. These are just like the New York 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:46.639 Jets and the Giants and the Knicks. These are teams 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:50.160 with professional athletes who have contracts, and they have schedules, 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:53.040 and they have matches that are televised, and then people 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:56.320 watch them playing, people watch them live, uh, and people 0:20:56.359 --> 0:20:58.840 watch them streaming and on TV. Uh. You know. This 0:20:58.840 --> 0:21:00.560 past summer, I went to the Active as a Blizzard 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:04.040 over Watch finals out. Barkley's sold out. I was talk 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:05.960 into a buddy mine who works with the Nets. He's 0:21:05.960 --> 0:21:07.720 telling me as the loudest he's ever seen the building, 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:09.919 louder than the jay Z concert, louder than when the 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:11.960 Nets win the playoffs. It was the loudest he's ever seen. 0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:14.359 So how big does this market get? What are we 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:16.400 talking and how quickly does it ramp up? I think 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:20.320 it is um It's global in nature, right, So just 0:21:20.359 --> 0:21:22.000 to put it in perspective, I just saw a stat 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:26.880 this morning Fortnite has now two million users. Think about that. 0:21:26.880 --> 0:21:29.200 That game is not that old, right, It is moving 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:32.880 at a pace where it is approaching with nothing else. 0:21:32.920 --> 0:21:35.000 And when the world of entertainment there's no other thing 0:21:35.080 --> 0:21:37.240 that looks like that, right, and you've got people of 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:40.320 all demographics. I think that's the big difference when you 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:44.400 think about video games, it's people who play sports who 0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:47.879 like video games. It's professional athletes, it's musicians, it's the 0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:51.000 guy who never leaves his basement. It's all right, it's 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:54.479 somebody in America, somebody in Asian women. Well, no, if 0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:56.920 you look at the Fortnite numbers, there's a lot of 0:21:57.359 --> 0:22:00.320 females who play. That's what's got people very excited about it. 0:22:00.320 --> 0:22:03.560 So the numbers are huge, so it could get very large. 0:22:03.600 --> 0:22:05.320 What what do you give me a number? Do you 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:07.960