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 Bayer has appointed Nestle's Heiko Schipper, 48, to the board of
management effective March 1, 2018, the drugs and pesticides maker
said in a statement on Wednesday.
Current head of the consumer health business, Erica Mann, will then
leave the company before the end of her current contract, which
would have run until the end of 2018, Bayer added.
Bayer's non-prescription drugs unit, boosted by a $14 billion
acquisition of brands from Merck & Co in 2014, has been grappling
with declining sales.
Bayer was caught off guard by the speed of U.S. consumers switching
to online stores such as Amazon, at the expense of established
drugstore operators.
With consumers able to easily compare prices on the Internet,
Bayer's premium brands such as sunscreen Coppertone or allergy
remedy Claritin have suffered.
U.S. drugstore chains have merged in response to the online threat,
wielding increased purchasing power to squeeze procurement prices.
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Bayer's consumer health unit reported a 7.4 percent fall in third
quarter sales, down 2.9 percent adjusted for currency fluctuations
and portfolio changes.
Nine-month sales were down 0.8 percent at 4.46 billion euros ($5.27
billion).
Nestle on Wednesday confirmed Schipper's departure, saying it would
seek to improve performance at its infant nutrition business by
managing it regionally, not globally.
(Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Jason Neely)
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