Beiersdorf gets back to basics

Beiersdorf is to concentrate its marketing efforts in its Nivea programme on basic products in daily use such as shower gels and face creams.

Chairman Thomas-Bernd Quaas says the supply chain will focus on the requirements of the retail sector with Nivea body care products in the forefront, a move which is being seen by industrial commentators as a further sign of a trend towards the basic necessities at a time of economic stringency.

Last year Beiersdorf's cosmetics segment held up fairly well but overall group sales dipped by 0.7% to €5.7bn and the return on sales fell from 11.7% to 10.2%. Demand affected the high-end products with sales of the La Prairie range down almost 9% while the Nivea range posted a modest increase. The consumer products division, including cosmetics, reported a 1.2% increase to around €5bn.

Quaas said that consumers were looking more critically at expensive products and that the competition was going in for aggressively priced special offers and own brand development. He added that Beiersdorf had to respond. The men's cosmetics and care products market in particular is expected to benefit from the company's signing up of the German football team trainer Jogi Low to help product promotion.