Aussies will emerge faster because coronavirus contained: CC Amatil

Coca-Cola Amatil chief executive Alison Watkins says the Australian consumer is better placed to emerge from the coronavirus crisis.

Coca-Cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins at company HQ in North Sydney. Picture: Ryan Osland

Coca-Cola Amatil chief executive Alison Watkins says the Australian consumer is better placed to emerge from the coronavirus crisis with confidence to spend because of the government’s success in stemming the pandemic, compared to consumers elsewhere in the world.

Australian and New Zealand consumers had a better prospect of rapidly returning to their life before the coronavirus swamped the globe, whether it was enjoying the outdoors or eating out, although they would be seeking value offers when shopping, she said.

And, in a candid moment during her virtual address to the trans-Tasman Business Circle on Wednesday, Ms Watkins spoke of her disempowerment as a leader in the pandemic, and said she felt that for many workers the novelty of working from home was starting to wane.

“The novelty of it has well and truly worn off for most of us. It is tremendously difficult for people who have to juggle kids not being at school and the restrictions on just being able to take the kids to the park.

“So living in a small apartment, the stresses, the untold stories are many and I’m sure we will see the outworkings of that in coming months,’’ Ms Watkins said.

“Working from home, we probably need to approach this as it is just the first 50m of an 800m race and so we need to make sure this is sustainable for everyone.”

Addressing the Business Circle’s Emerging Leaders Series, Ms Watkins also conceded some aspect of disempowerment as her long-promised restructure of CC Amatil was just starting to come to fruition when the country was hit by bushfires and then the coronavirus pandemic.

“All of sudden the weather changed and we can’t complete the climb like we wanted to, and so (it all depends on) how quickly you can accept that and get yourself into a positive mindset.’’

CC Amatil was forced in March to withdraw its guidance of single-digit earnings per share growth in 2020 as the economic uncertainty driven by the pandemic rattled consumer confidence and squeezed beverage sales.

But Ms Watkins was more upbeat when asked about the health of the consumer coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, saying they were probably in a better position than other consumers around the world.

“It is actually a better prospect that consumers here in Australia and New Zealand will perhaps feel more comfortable to get out and to be eating out, reverting to our normal out and about life, whereas for some of those other countries it actually may take quite a long time.

“But I do think we are certainly going to see a greater focus on e-commerce. Another general theme will be around affordability, not for everybody, but certainly the economic impact of this is going to be severe and we expect that consumers will be very concerned about their budgets and so we will see a greater focus on value.’’

Ms Watkins said CC Amatil and other grocery brands would need to improve their online presence as consumers shifted to e-commerce in the wake of the health crisis.

“A whole wall of Coke, it looks fantastic. How do we make sure it looks fantastic online as well?”