Henkel to ‘step up’ investments

Henkel will step up investments by around €300 million euros annually from 2019 onward, according to the company.

Two-thirds of the increased investment will go into brands, technologies, innovations and key markets. The remaining third will go towards funding a company-wide digital transformation.

The step up in investment follows good progress towards Henkel’s 2020+ strategic priorities, and a strong business performance in 2017 and 2018.

“We will step up our growth investments to build on our strengths and capture opportunities especially in our consumer businesses,” said Henkel CEO Hans Van Bylen.

“We will strengthen our position by accelerating the launch of new brands and innovations, increasing our marketing investments and driving digitalisation even further. At the same time, we will continue to maintain our high cost discipline, pursue further efficiency gains and continually adjust our structures.”

 

Beauty care plans

Henkel’s Beauty Care division will play a central role in its plans going forward.

According to the statement, the company is planning a relaunch of its entire hair care portfolio to push growth.

Brands such as Schauma, Syoss and Gliss will receive new formulations. In hair colouration, the company will look to build on new innovations under the Schwarzkopf and Palette brands.

In North America, the Dial beauty care brand will also see new formulations “addressing the trend of healthier skin.” There will also be an expansion of the company’s product portfolio in the North American hair colouration category.

 

Positive but challenging

Elsewhere in the statement, Henkel unveil their preliminary results for 2018. Sales for the year amounted to €19.9 billion euros, compared to €20 billion in the previous year, with currencies having negatively reported sales by around €1.1 billion.

The final and audited financial results will be published on 21 February.