Hitchcock

Macfarlane sets sights on faster growth

Chief of packaging company admits ‘crazy prices’ are impediment

Unwrapping a new future for Macfarlane Group

Troubleshooter Peter Atkinson has turned around the fortunes of the once struggling packaging company

Overhaul puts beans back into Heinz

Chief executive Dave Woodward reveals how he turned the UK division into the star of the food giant

High cost of weekly shop to last a decade

Consumer goods groups say the costs of food and other items are unlikely to fall, even though commodity prices have slipped

Philips changes mood with new product launch

The electronics company is poised to leap into the bedroom with a daring product that it hopes will electrify relationships

Business big shot: Sheila Struyck of Philips

Ms Struyck is a bit coy about who came up with the proposal for the intimate massager, saying it emerged from market research

Paul Polman named as Unilever chief

A hundred-year-old tradition of appointing the boss from within ends as the top executive from a rival company is poached

Power shift in Unilever soap plot

Paul Polman has spent the best part of his career learning the dark arts of consumer products marketing at Procter & Gamble

Interest rates ... Unilever ... Whitbread: Tempus at lunchtime

MPC still restricted by inflation ... Discipline and delivery expected from Dutchman ... Some cheer from Premier Inn

Tempus: Dutch courage

Nestle's Polman beats insiders to head Unilever

Paul Polman, who failed to secure Nestle's top job, succeeds Unilever veteran Patrick Cescau, beating four insiders

DSG faces loss as consumer confidence dips

Chief executive of DSG International sees little hope of rebound in spending for household electronics before 2010

Coca-Cola reveals taste for Chinese juice

US group step up plans for soft-drinks dominance in Asia by making a $2.5bn (£1.4bn) takeover offer for China Huiyuan

M&S hires Del Boy to boost food sales

High street retailer all but consigns its 'this is not just food' campaign to history and brings in David Jason

CBI urges formulation of industrial policy

CBI chief warns of an urgent need to bolster manufacturing as the economic slowdown puts more pressure on industry