Performance Food Group
Performance Food Group (PFGC) names Craig Hoskins as President & COO and Patrick Hagerty as Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer effective January 3. Mr. Hoskins career with PFG began in 1990 with the legacy company, which became Vistar, where Craig served in areas of increasing responsibility in marketing, sales, purchasing, and operations, and most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of the Company and President & CEO of Foodservice. Mr. Hagerty's career with PFG began in 1994, and most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of PFG and CEO of Vistar since 2018.
MCD Japan FRIES
Beginning the week starting Friday, December 24, regular or large fries at McDonald's are off the menu if you're in Japan. The company is forced to ration the product in Japan because of supply chain bottlenecks. It sources potatoes from North America, where omicron cases have been surging. In addition to coronavirus wreaking havoc, flooding at a Vancouver port has further squeezed the logistics network. McDonald's is trying to arrange alternative flights to ensure the shortage doesn't continue to plague its 2,900 Japanese outlets in the new year. Meanwhile, it's offering customers a 50 yen ($0.44) discount on combos (that typically come with medium fries) on account of the smaller portion.
Starbucks takes hard line on unions
Starbucks (SBUX) on Monday reiterated its tough stance against unionizing, saying that while the movement was not in the best interests of its workforce, it would "bargain in good faith" with one location that voted to organize. Partners at a store in Buffalo voted to form the first-ever union despite the company's lobbied hard against the Buffalo effort, saying it's more than 8,000 company-owned U.S. stores operate best when it works directly with its employees. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) confirmed the vote on Friday, yet the company remains opposed to the effort. "From the beginning, we've been clear in our belief that we do not want a union between us as partners, and that conviction has not changed," Rossann Williams, Starbucks EVP and president of U.S. Retail and Canada, wrote to all U.S. partners. We have also said that we respect the legal process," insisting the company would "bargain in good faith with the union that represents partners in the one Buffalo store that voted in favor of union representation. Our hope is that union representatives also come to the table with mutual good faith, respect, and positive intent." A second cafe narrowly rejected the measure, and a third coffee shop is still waiting on results amid several challenges to individual ballots.
