Mystery surrounds status of Coles pitch Nichola Patterson
Confusion surrounds the state of the $90 million Coles advertising pitch with some agencies claiming it is on hold until the company’s ownership is finalised.
Some agencies were told a new shortlist would have been drawn up by now, while others believe the whole process has been put on the backburner.
Sources have told B&T that a temporary halt had been put on the pitch while McCann Worldgroup were charged with redefining the parameters of the pitch document; something deemed as a necessary contingency in light of the continuing uncertainty surrounding a buyer for the group.
Unless a major investment consortium buys the whole group, it is likely the brands will be broken up and sold off separately, which will impact on the advertising business.
A lot of the uncertainty about the sale stems from disagreements on the value of the operations – a figure that should become clearer on March 26, when Coles’ half-year sales and profit update is released.
At the time of publishing, calls from McCann’s had not been returned. Pat Williams, who is running the pitch for Coles, is refusing to talk to journalists.
