The frontpage headline and lead story occupying most of page 1 above the fold in yesterday's NBR plus a two-page spread inside the paper raises the suggestion that Fonterra, which has reportedly spurned opportunities in the past to take over the a2 Milk Company, might now face the prospect of A2 being taken over by a foreign dairy giant and turned into a major local competititive threat to the national co-op.
But before everyone rushes out to buy a copy, let me say the story is hardly gripping. Although the NBR reporter has apparently interviewed CEO Geoff Babidge, her story comes nowhere near giving the suggestion any substance. It adds nothing to what has been published elsewhere about a2MC and the recent takeover talk, and doesn't even begin to discuss the issues and problems, let alone the perceived benefits, of a global giant trying to turn a2MC into a competitor to Fonterra. It just notes Babidge's admission that some of the company's patents start running out in a couple of years, leaving a "window of opportunity now to develp the brand", but doesn't say for what purpose.
Of course, a front-page headline in NBR and a big spread inside the paper speculating that A2 is some kind of threat to Fonterra can't do the company's reputation and its SP any harm. It's good to be noticed, at least.
Meanwhile A2 is generating useful publicity for itself in Britain. The London Daily Mirror, which is read by more than a dozen or two folk, has run a story in its financial section on the best promotional deals being offered by British supermarkets, and picks A2 Milk as the best.
"Our favourite deal this week is a free bottle of A2 milk with your grocery shop - it's a 2 litre (2 pints) bottle and the offer is open to anyone shopping online at [Sainsburys]". It then goes on to explain what A2 is all about.