Household and Personal Products Industry

products at 35%; and insecticides and air fresheners at 6% each. Sales in Western Europe were up modestly. Sales growth in Eastern Europe slowed from the double-digit gains posted in 2008, but Henkel still managed to grow market share.

In the emerging markets of Africa/Middle East, Latin America and Asia, several key markets, such as Russia and Egypt, posted double-digit sales gains. However, sales in Asia were hurt by the 2008 decision to exit China. Finally, results in North America were mixed, as a small gain in detergent sales was offset by a decline in household cleaners.

Among the novel new product launches in laundry and home care, Henkel rolled out Persil ActiPower, a coldwater laundry detergent, Somat 9 dishwashing liquid and Purex Complete 3-in-1 laundry sheets.

In the cosmetics and toiletries sector, sales dipped to just under $4.2 billion. Skin care accounted for 35% of sales, followed by hair cosmetics and salon products, 32%; body care, 22%; and oral care, 11%. The primary reason for the decline in sales was the lackluster hair care business, as cash-strapped consumers stayed away from hair salons. Despite the difficult salon environment, Henkel managed to expand share and retain its No. 3 position in the global hair salon market.

In cosmetics and toiletries, Schwarzkopf Essential Color is Henkel’s first 100% permanent hair colorant without ammonia. Syoss is billed as an affordable, professional hair care line, and new Dial Anti-Oxidant body wash contains cranberries and antioxidant pearls.

The good news is that Henkel turned in a strong first quarter performance in 2010, as sales rose 7.8% to $4.8 billion.

“Once again our strong brands made a further major contribution to Henkel’s gratifying Q1 results. However, this very good performance is also due to our efforts in adapting our structures and reducing our costs, coupled with the good progress we have made in the implementation of our strategic priorities,”said Kasper

Henkel raised consumer awareness about the plight of the homeless with its Shower Power Mobile Shower.

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES for sustainability at Arizona State Uni- versity (ASU) met with international experts from industry, the sciences and political leaders for a conference and exchange of views, knowledge and experience at Henkel’s global headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany from June 30-July 2. The topics discussed ranged from the role of multinational companies and political programs to sustainability science in higher education. Among the guests were ASU president Michael Crow; business leaders and members of the board of trustees for sustainability at ASU; Julie Ann Wrigley, Wrigley Investments LLC; S. Robson Walton, chairman, Walmart; Karl Falkenberg, director-general of environment, European Commission; and sustainability expert Prof. Masaru Yarime of the University of Tokyo.

Rorsted, chairman, Henkel management board.“Now we are look-
ing forward to a noticeable improvement in our results of more
than 15% for the full fiscal year versus 2009.”
Laundry and home care sales rose 3.5% to $1.4 billion, as
emerging markets continued to grow and conditions improved in
Western Europe and North America. Sales were helped along by
the introduction of several novel products. For example, Persil Hy-
giene Rinser was launched in a number of countries in Western
Europe while Eastern European markets saw the rollout of Persil
Gold Plus Active, an innovative product that reduces the amount
of energy required per laundry wash. The home care business made
a disproportionate contribution to the rise in sales. The geographic
breakdown shows that Henkel registered growth momentum in
virtually all its regions, particularly in Africa/Middle East, Asia and
North America. In North America, the focus was on the launch of
products under the Soft Scrub brand for gentle surface cleaning in
the bathroom and kitchen. Suitable for removing a wide range of
soil types, they reduce the amount of effort required and acceler-
ate the cleaning process on all surfaces, according to the company.

While laundry and home care sales rose in the first quarter, the cosmetics and toiletries business did even better, posting a 5.5% gain that outstripped both the high levels of growth achieved in recent quarters and the overall rate of market expansion, according to Henkel. The growth regions of Asia-Pacific, Africa/Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe turned in excellent results, and a significant contribution to growth also came from the mature markets of Western Europe.

Best of all, hair care returned to growth, following the relaunch of the Schauma Volume series with pushup effect, accompanied by the introduction of the new Gliss Shea Cashmere line. In the colorants business, priority was given to the launch of the Syoss Color line and driving forward the further successful expansion of Essential Colors.