ConAgra Karma

[BN1]

Moving to Chicago to attract better "talent" really seems to be working out for them.

Anyone know what their Omaha employee headcount is these days?

[djc311]

The way they shafted Omaha... don't really feel bad for them as a company. Never would want anyone to lose their jobs due to them falling off a cliff, regardless of the market they choose to exist in. However, I wouldn't mind too much if the CEO's total comp package took a hit.

It's sad that any traded company gives their CEO ultimate power to the point they get to decide if they would like to relocate their headquarters. Saddest thing about it is that if they do end up downsizing and eliminating positions, the guy at the top will never pay a price for it.

[riceweb]

The move to Chicago isn't what's killing the company. You think Omaha would have been able to innovate in the food space?

The thesis for moving to Chicago wasn't wrong, and it allowed for substantially reducing bloated headcount after consolidation in the post-conglomerate phase.

The bigger issues facing CAG are long-term trends of customers moving away from packaged foods. And CAG can't ever get exciting products to be carried by the one shining spot in the packaged-goods business: Costco. They're basically nonexistent there.

But overall, the company is mostly run like a cash cow, with only a couple of interesting brands. All of the cash cow brands are run to extract maximum return on minimal investment, because CAG has the awareness that many of its brands are dying slow deaths.

[Bob from Omaha]

Boy, when Mike Harper was there it was amazing. When they rolled out Healthy Choice ice cream at an annual meeting I think in the 80s, Harper said he first tried it in his kitchen at home & said "It was just damn good" The stock was constantly rising and it was fun to own. The annual meetings weren't BH size but they were sure fun. I get the point that those days are gone and it's not going to be what it was, if it really was all that. If they still have a sizable presence in Omaha it's good. I'm not sure they'll ever consider moving back or what they'll even be in 5 years. Maybe owned by some PE firm.

[Busguy2010]

I never looked to find out what brands they hold, but just did.

https://www.conagrabrands.com/brands

Turns out at least for me personally, the only brand of theirs I regular is Healthy Choice. I'll choose Vlasic pickles, and sometimes Swiss Miss or a Banquet dinner like once a year. But for the most part, none of their brands are notably better than (insert) store brand.

Maybe people are over paying more for the same |expletive|.

[riceweb]

Boy, when Mike Harper was there it was amazing. When they rolled out Healthy Choice ice cream at an annual meeting I think in the 80s, Harper said he first tried it in his kitchen at home & said "It was just damn good"

Sure, and now you have people spending $10 on a waffle cone at Stella's ice cream.

So on one hand, packaged food can't compete with restaurants/quick service/food trucks. There's never been a time with more choice in restaurants, and restaurants open and close and churn through food crazes rapidly. A big factory making frozen goods can't adapt very quickly even with the best management.

And on the other hand, the explosion of the upper middle class that either spends $10 on ice cream or shops exclusively at Whole Foods and specialty grocers has really hurt the total addressable market for Conagra. Conagra is really only able to market and sell to the most price conscious consumers, which isn't great for margin expansion.

[skip]

Conagra in Chicago is a good steppingstone for professionals in Chicago. This is due to lower compensation in comparable jobs in Chicago and the fact it is a reputable company. The lower compensation also causes lower retention rates. Many works at Conagra will bounce around the Merchandise Mart building since there are a large amount of food companies in the same building.

Many employees are preferred to be hired in Omaha since there are higher retention rates and the lower compensation demand.

This is from a previous employee.

[ricko]

The coming recession may give them a temporary bump, since people will more likely cook at home; but, my gosh, just on a personal level, I can’t remember the last time I bought canned anything, besides soups,or frozen premade dinners. Like Kellogg’s, they haven’t kept up with consumer demand. Beaurocratic inertia is the bane of large conglomerates.

[nativeomahan]

I am amazed at how many brands are under the ConAgra umbrella. Lots and lots of their products are on the shelves in Mexican grocery stores.

[ChadJK]

Like many large corporations these days, it's Vanguard and BlackRock that are pulling the puppet strings of ConAgra. You dig into the largest shareholders of ginormous corporations like this and it's often the usual suspects.

[Stargazer]

[Garrett]

Sean Connolly, the CEO who made the call to move to Chicago, has been fired, or should I say “Politely and suddenly I voluntold to step down”

[HskrFanMike]

Like many large corporations these days, it's Vanguard and BlackRock that are pulling the puppet strings of ConAgra. You dig into the largest shareholders of ginormous corporations like this and it's often the usual suspects.

You do understand who Vanguard and BlackRock are, don't you?

Hint: Think your 401k.

[WiinterU]

Sean Connolly, the CEO who made the call to move to Chicago, has been fired, or should I say “Politely and suddenly I voluntold to step down”

Absolutely wonderful news! This means that Conagra will move its headquarters back to Omaha, Nebraska, right?

[riceweb]

He was there for 11 years. This is really more of a retirement, but maybe slightly ahead of schedule.

[Cermak]

He was there for 11 years. This is really more of a retirement, but maybe slightly ahead of schedule.

Right, it looks like he was pushed out a little early. For Omaha’s sake I hope the new CEO can turn things around. Would hate to lose all those jobs downtown and have an empty 1980’s style office campus sitting there deteriorating.