Henkel is #12 on this year's list of Top Global Beauty Companies. 

Below is a look at the company’s 2018 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.

Corporate Sales

$24 billion

Beauty Sales

$4.7 billion
(FY 2017 Beauty Sales: $4 billion)

Key Personnel

• Hans Van Bylen, chief executive officer
• Carsten Knobel, executive vice president, chief financial officer
• Jens-Martin Schwärzler, executive vice president, beauty care

Major Products/Brands

• Schwarzkopf & Henkel, Schwarzkopf, Syoss, Alterna,
• Antica Erboristeria, Aok, BonaCure, BlondMe, Color Mask,
• Clynol, Brilliance, Blonde, Brilliance, Color Ultime, Gliss, Igora,
• Kenra, Keratin Color, Kit Racines, Konzil, Got2Be, Osis,
• Sexy Hair, Pravana, Indola, Clynol, Clynol,
• TSG hair care products; Diadem, Diadermine skin care;
• Diosa, Essensity and Nectra Color hair color;
• Fa, La Toja, Neutromed personal cleansers; Dial;
• Tone, Coast, and La Chat Soaps

New Products

• Alterna Caviar Cream, #mydentity haircolor,
• Zotos, Joico, Dial Complete 2-In-1 Foaming Hand Wash,
• Schwarzkopf Keratin Color with Pre-Color Serum

Henkel, By the Numbers

In fiscal 2017, Henkel delivered on its financial targets, weathering what it termed “challenging and volatile market conditions.”

While overall corporate sales grew by 7%, beauty care sales increased just 0.8% to about $4.5 billion, with top brands Schwarzkpf, Dial and Syoss contributing 0.5% towards organic sales growth. North American sales dipped, as did performance in Western Europe. The impacting factors, according to the company, included weakened promotional activity, as well as price and trade pressures in concert with declining average prices.

Last year the company’s beauty care segment launched #myidentity hair color with Guy Tang, a hairdresser and social media influencer. The product allows hairdressers to develop customized colors and styles for their clients.

News of Note 2018

Henkel continued to aggressively strengthen its position in the global salon hair care industry by closing an acquisition in January of Shiseido North America’s Zotos International professional hair care business for a reported $485 million, adding Joico and Zotos Professional brands to Henkel’s hair care portfolio.

This acquisition comes on the heels of Henkel’s September acquisition of Nattura Laboratorios, which owned the brand Pravana, and even earlier acquisitions of Sexy Hair, Alterna and Kenra brands.

To maximize its hair care moxie, in January 2018, Henkel opened a new, “technology-rich” Beauty Care Hair Professional headquarters in Culver City, CA, to bring together its professional hair care brands under one roof.

The company debuted SalonLab in January. Described as “a digital ecosystem for quantifying and customizing the hair care experience,” SalonLab brings hair care to the digital age by creating personalized on-demand hair care products using technologies such as near-infrared hair diagnostics and augmented reality color consults.

Henkel also cut the ribbon on a new, 24,000-square foot, state-of-the-art R&D facility in Stamford, CT. The facility is comprised of a formulation lab, which develops Henkel Beauty Care products including Dial, Right Guard, Tone, Schwarzkopf and got2b as well as Research@Elm, a clinical testing lab, and employs about 40 people.

Looking Ahead

In an effort to ensure future progress, Henkel outlined a forward-looking plan called Henkel 2020+, devised to drive growth, accelerate digitalization, increase agility and fund growth for the next several years. One goal is to double digital sales to more than four billion euros by 2020.

Growth will be driven by focusing on mature and emerging markets and by engaging with consumers. The company will also accelerate digitalization by implementing initiatives to enhance its digital business and “eTransform” its organization. In light of the aforementioned market volatility, increased agility will hinge on simplified processes to enhance faster-to-market capabilities. And finally, to fund growth, Henkel has pledged to optimize its resource allocation by increasing efficiencies and expanding its global supply chain organization. The expected goal by 2020 is to generate annual efficiency gains of more than €500 million.

Looking ahead even further, Henkel announced that 100% of its packaging would be recyclable, reusable or compostable. The company also aims to use 35% recycled plastic for its consumer goods products in Europe in the same timeframe.

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