According to a new survey from KPMG International, consumer companies around the globe are showing a surprising resilience and guarded optimism about prospects for growth in 2011.
However, amid continued market volatility and changing demographic trends, Canadian chief financial officers are more wary than their global counterparts.
KPMG International worked with CFO Research Services to survey 291 senior finance executives of consumer businesses to gauge their outlook on the issues affecting their industries and markets.
Shortly following the crises in Japan and Middle East, KPMG and CFO Research conducted a second survey of more than 150 senior finance executives. Sixty-four per cent believe conditions in Japan and the Middle East will have little or no impact on their business operations in the long-term, although for Asia Pacific specifically, 80% of all respondents expect a sustained impact on economic growth over the next six to 12 months.
Respondents worldwide were most likely to consider energy price volatility as the biggest concern, as 51% of respondents anticipate a short-term impact on energy price volatility and 40% expect a long-term impact.
In Canada, the study found CFOs have a cautious outlook, as production and merchandise costs remain a focus.
In North America, consumer trends point to a stronger consumer focus on savings, a heightened interest in safety, health and sustainability and lower consumption of luxury goods. An aging population is also one of the surveyed CFOs' concerns.
Willy Kruh, global chair of KPMG's consumer markets practice said, “We're still experiencing an erosion of spending, as people are simply spending less, so the focus on cost management going forward is still critical.
“Moreover, the fundamental issues underlying Standard and Poor's revised outlook on the U.S. as well as the threat of rising inflation in China could have repercussions on consumer spending in both North America and China, although it's still too soon to tell.”
Jennifer Harrison