Nestle has struggled with several quarters of weak sales volumes
New CEO Freixe to restructure and sharpen focus on top brands
Investors acknowledge challenges, but are encouraged by Freixe39;s plans

LONDON, Oct 18 Reuters Nestle39;s plans under new CEO Laurent Freixe to restructure and sharpen its focus on its top brands were welcomed by investors, but executing a turnaround strategy against a backdrop of weak consumer demand will be a tough task.

After replacing Mark Schneider as CEO last month, Freixe set out plans on Thursday to revamp the executive board, revive Nestle39;s core 31 billionaire brands, become price competitive again and win back market share through innovation and marketing.

He relayed his strategy to investors as Nestle owner of brands including Nescafe, Kit Kat, Sanpellegrino and Purina pet food cut its fullyear sales outlook after weaker than expected ninemonth organic sales growth.

Freixe told an investor call that Nestle is operating in an environment characterized by softening consumer demand, particularly in North America and Europe, the company39;s biggest markets.

In the first nine months of the year, the Swissbased group was only able to raise prices by 0.6 in North America, where its products sell at retailers from Walmart to Kroger.

In Europe, grocers are becoming harder to negotiate with and several products were taken off shelves in the third quarter, the company said.

Freixe clearly has his work cut out to improve these weak…