5. Beiersdorf
Germany
www.beiersdorf.com
Beauty Sales: $6.9 billion for consumer (includes cosmetics and toiletries and sales of Elastoplast and Hansaplast)
Corporate Sales: $8.1 billion

Key Personnel: Thomas B. Quaas, chief executive officer; Dr. Bernhard Düttmann, chief financial officer; Peter Kleinschmidt, human resources and sustainability; Pieter Nota, brands; Markus Pinger, supply chain.

Products/Brands: Skin care, beauty care, hair care and toiletries sold under brand names including Nivea, Eucerin, La Prairie, Slek, Labello, 8x4, Juvena, Florena.

New Products: Nivea Diamond Gloss hair care and styling range, Nivea for Men Hair Recharge, Nivea Visage Young bye-bye spot,  La Prairie Advanced Marine Biology Cream, Eucerin DermoDENSIFYER, Juvena Eye Optimizer.

Nivea for Men Hair Recharge promises that, right from the beginning, more energy for hair growth is available and individual hairs become thicker.

Comments: Beiersdorf, with its more than 125 years of experience in skin and beauty care says it’s been a global player from the start (the company first linked to companies in the U.S. in 1893, 11 years after its founding by pharmacist Paul C. Beiersdorf in Hamburg, Germany). Today, Beiersdorf claims its key product, Nivea, is the largest skin and beauty care brand worldwide.
  
In 2007, Beiersdorf reported corporate sales of  $8.1 billion. Sales of the company’s consumer business segment, which includes skin care cosmetics and toiletries—but also its plaster products Elastoplast and Hansaplast—rose 7.7% to $6.9 billion. Approximately 85% of sales are attributed to personal care. Nivea is the top-selling brand. Eucerin (dermocosmetics) and La Prairie (luxury cosmetics) are also very successful. In 2007, Beiersdorf acquired C-BONS hair care group in China.
  
Nivea’s sales rose in all regions in 2007, allowing the brand to record global growth of 11.4%. Driving the success were products such as Nivea deodorant, Nivea body and Nivea for men. In addition, Beiersdorf said Nivea Visage Oxygen Power had a very good start, while the relaunch of Nivea Hair Care continued its success. However, bad weather hampered growth rates of the Nivea Sun line. Eucerin met targets, recording growth of 19.6% in 2007 and the La Prairie Group recorded growth of 10.7%.
  
On a geographical basis, sales rose 4.8% in Europe. Sales results in Germany—which were affected by the shifting of exports to Dubai and Russia for Middle East and CIS regions, respectively—dropped 4.2%. Sales to customers within Germany were up 0.2%. In Western Europe (excluding Germany), sales rose 4.3%, and in Eastern Europe, Beiersdorf recorded another year of double-digit growth with sales up 27.7%. In the Americas, sales rose 12.5%, with North America up 4.9%. In Latin America, Beiersdorf recorded double-digit growth of 20%, with Brazil (22.4%) and Mexico (15.0%), and affiliates in Venezuela (47.2%) and Argentina (35.7%) bolstering the strong performance. In Africa/Asia/Australia, sales rose 26.2%.
  
For the first half of 2008, sales rose a healthy 11.5% over the same period in the previous year, to $4.9 billion. The consumer division showed improved sales for the same period of $4.2 billion. Sales were strongest in Europe, but gains were also seen in Africa/Asia/Australia and the Americas. Global Nivea sales rose 10.4%.
  
The year will continue with a campaign focused on the U.S. market, which Beiersdorf targeted in 2007 for its core skin care brands Nivea hand and body and Eucerin/Aquaphor, generating significant organic growth in these segments. The second half of 2008 will see the launch of the first product line since the strategic change: Nivea Lip Care. The goal is to make Nivea Lip Care the No. 1 lip care in the U.S.
  
In India, Beiersdorf will continue to expand its Nivea for Men whitening range, launching Whitening Control Oil. The first Nivea for Men Whitening product launched in 2007 and became a bestseller in just six months.
  
In an effort to increase market share in the Middle East, Beiersdorf launched the Nivea Gold Brand Campaign, which runs in Arabic, English, Farsi and French. In addition, the company announced plans to open a Nivea Haus in Dubai, offering salon-like treatments to consumers. Another center will be opened in Berlin.