Euromonitor International's report on Reckitt Benckiser Plc (RB) delivers a detailed strategic analysis of the

company's business, examining its performance in the market and the global economy.
Company and market share data provide a detailed look at the financial position of Reckitt Benckiser Plc
(RB), while in-depth qualitative analysis will help you understand the brand strategy and growth prospects
of Reckitt Benckiser Plc (RB).

This report examines:

Company share by region and sector

Brand portfolio

New product developments

Marketing and distribution strategies

A detailed SWOT analysis of Reckitt Benckiser Plc (RB) provides strategic intelligence on:

Strengths and weaknesses

Category and country opportunities for growth

Challenges and threats from current competition and future prospects

Global and regional market positions

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Scope of the Report
Scope
Strategic Evaluation
Key company facts
Financial analysis: A year in 2013
Product innovation underpins strong growth in 2013
SWOT: Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc
Strategic objectives and challenges
Competitive Positioning
Mature markets bias slows growth
Top players in 2013

Market Assessment
Powerbrands shine in growth categories
Upping the focus in emerging markets
Geographic and Category O pportunities
Laundry focus on stain and spots removers
Geographic and Category Opportunities
Lacking presence in China
Laundry detergents threatens future in Western Europe
Low-temperature washing creates potential
World leader in surface care
Good potential in development of task-specific products
Globa l leader in automatic dishwashing with focus on tablet innovation
Competition heats up in product development
North America a market worth fighting for
Emerging markets a long-term commitment
Air care focused on premium format
Rising competition from Procter & Gamble
Brand Strategy
Brand strategy assessment
Finish leads global automatic dishwashing
Dettol the most versatile brand
Operations
Business operation shift towards Powermarkets
Recommendations
Growth at the both ends of the world

RB's product innovations in 2015

Our strength comes from our constant drive to innovate on average 30% of our revenue
comes from innovations launched in the last three years.
And now we reveal our new innovations for 2015 here's the range of exciting products joining RB's
already extensive family this year.

Nurofen Express
Express targets the muscles which are the real source of headaches, providing faster relief.
Scholl Velvet Smooth Express Pedi with Diamond Crystals
Our most advanced electronic foot file for effective and safe hard skin removal. With diamond crystal
roller for superior exfoliation.
Scholl GelActiv insoles
Improves the comfort of your shoes all day long. Unique GelActiv technology is a dual gel which
provides optimum level of cushioning and shock absorption.
Durex Invisible Extra Thin
Durex's thinnest latex condom ever, to maximise sensitivity for a closer connection.

Optrex ActiMist 2 in 1
Clinically proven to moisturise dry, irritated eyes.
MegaRed SuperHeart
Unique combination of three clinically proven ingredients for extra support for heart health.

Finish Shine & Protect with Glass Protect Action

Protects your glasses throughout the washing cycle for two-times longer glass protection.
Dettol proFresh Body Wash
Removes odour-causing germs for all day freshness. Gently cleanses and cares for your skin.
Veet Spawax
Salon-perfect smoothness at home.
Mortein Activ Card
Knocks out mosquitoes in just three minutes.

Air Wick Life Scents

Breakthrough fragrance technology that creates constantly changing fragrance experiences for your
home.
Vanish Gold and Gold for Whites
New premium gold-standard in stain removal. Removes stains in 30 seconds.
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Announcements, press releases & presentations

The talk about RB
Investor information
Category performance
Health
Hygiene
Home


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Food
Corporate governance
Share price information
Shareholder information
Patient organisation donations
Joint working executive summaries
Newsletter registration
Financial support for Healthcare Professionals
Contact us

31%*Health
41%*Hygiene
20%*Home
4%*Portfolio Brands
4%*Food

Category performance
RB's 19 Powerbrands are globally leading brands in high growth categories. These high-performing
categories are Health, Home, Hygiene, Portfolio Brands, Food and Pharmaceuticals. Click on the
category to find out more.
On 23rd December 2014 RB completed the demerger of the Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals
business with a separate UK listing under the name of Indivior PLC. For any further information, please
visit Indivior.com.
* % net revenue. Figures based on Full Year Results for 2014.

Print this page

Reckitt Benckiser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc

Type

Traded as

Public limited company

LSE: RB
FWB: GB00B24CGK77

ISIN

GB00B24CGK77

Industry

Consumer goods

Founded

1814 (J&J Colman)

1823 (Benckiser)
1840 (Reckitt & Sons)
1938 (merger of Reckitt &
Sons and J&J Colman)
1999 (merger of Reckitt &
Colman and Benckiser)

Headquarters

Slough, Berkshire, UK

Key people

Adrian Bellamy (Chairman)

Rakesh Kapoor (CEO)[1]

Products

Cleaning products
Consumer healthcare products

Condiments
Personal care products
Revenue

8.836 billion (2014)[2]

Operating

2.185 billion (2014)[2]

income
Net income

1.663 billion (2014)[2]

Number of

35,900 (2012)[3]

employees
www.rb.com

Website

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB) (LSE: RB) is a multinational consumer goods company
headquartered in Slough, Berkshire, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and home products.
[4]
It was formed in 1999 by the merger of the UK-based Reckitt & Colman plc and the Netherlandsbased Benckiser NV.
RB's brands include French's Mustard, the antiseptic brand Dettol, the sore
throat medicine Strepsils, the hair removal brand Veet, the air freshener Air
Wick, Calgon, Clearasil, Cillit Bang, Durex, Lysol, Mycil and Vanish.[5] It has operations in around 60
countries and its products are sold in almost 200 countries.
RB is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had
a market capitalisation of approximately 38 billion as of 24 December 2014.[6]
Contents
[hide]

1 History
o

1.1 Origins

1.2 1999 to present

1.3 Name change

2 Operations

3 Products

4 Corporate governance

5 Corporate social responsibility

o

5.1 Save the Children

5.2 Carbon 20

5.3 betterbusiness

5.4 RB Trees

6 Anti-competitive behaviour

7 Legal challenges to rodenticide regulations

8 References

9 External links

History[edit]
Origins[edit]
Main articles: Reckitt and Sons and Colman's

Stoke Holy Cross Mill, in Norwich, England, the home of Colman'smustard from 1814 to 1862

Johann A. Benckiser founded a business in Germany in 1823. Its main products were industrial and
consumer goods industrial chemicals.[7] Benckiser went public in 1997.[8][9]
Reckitt & Sons started in 1840 when Isaac Reckitt rented a starch mill in Hull, England.[7] He
diversified into other household products and after his death in 1862, the business passed to his
three sons.[10] In 1886, Reckitt opened its first overseas business in Australia.[10] The firm was first
listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1888.[7] Harpic Lavatory Cleaners was acquired in 1932, and
that same year, Dettolwas launched.[10]

In 1938 Reckitt & Sons merged with J. & J. Colman, which had been founded in 1814
when Jeremiah Colman began milling flour andmustard in Norwich, England,[7] to become Reckitt &
Colman Ltd.[7] The company made several acquisitions, including the Airwick and Carpet Fresh
brands (1985), the Boyle-Midway division of American Home Products (1990), and the Lehn & Fink
division of Sterling Drug(1994).
Reckitt & Colman sold the Colman's food business in 1995.[7]

1999 to present[edit]
The company was formed by a merger between Britain's Reckitt & Colman plc and the Dutch
company Benckiser NV in December 1999. Bart Becht became CEO of the new company and has
been credited for its transformation, focusing on core brands and improving efficiency in the supply
chain. The new management team's strategy of "innovation marketing".[11] a combination of
increased marketing spend and product innovation, focusing on consumer needs has been linked
to the company's ongoing success. For example, in 2008, the company's "rapid succession of well
publicised new product variants" were credited for helping them "to capture shoppers' imagination".
[12]
Business Weekhas also noted that "40% of Reckitt Benckiser's $10.5 billion in 2007 revenues
came from products launched within the previous three years."[13]
In October 2005, RB agreed to purchase the over-the-counter drugs manufacturing business
of Boots Group, Boots Healthcare International, for 1.9 billion. The three main brands acquired
were Nurofen's analgesics, Strepsils sore throat lozenges, and Clearasil anti-acne treatments.[14] In
January 2008, RB acquired Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, for
$2.3 billion; one of the major brands acquired was Mucinex.[15] In July 2010, RB agreed to buy SSL
International, the makers of Durexcondoms and Scholl's footcare products, in a 2.5 billion deal.[16]
On 27 August 2011, RB recalled all remaining stock of its major analgesic product, Nurofen Plus,
after packs were found to contain an antipsychotic drug.[17] It turned out that this was the work of a
codeine addict who had been stealing the pills and replacing them with his anti psychotic medication.
[18]

In April 2011, Bart Becht announced he was to retire as CEO of Reckitt Benckiser and would be
replaced from September 2011 by executive vice president of Category Development, Rakesh
Kapoor, who had played a key role in recent acquisitions. [19]
In November 2012, RB agreed to acquire Schiff Nutrition, a United States-based manufacturer of
vitamins and nutritional supplements including Digestive Advantage, MegaRed, Airborne, and Move
Free, for US$1.4 billion (877 million).[20][21] In December 2014, RB spun off its specialty
pharmaceuticals business, which produces Suboxone, into a separate company named Indivior.[22]

Name change[edit]
In 2014, Reckitt Benckiser announced it was dropping its full name in favour of RB. [23] According to
the chief executive, Rakesh Kapoor, the old name was "a bit of a mouthful" and the name change
would make life easier.'[24]

Operations[edit]
RB is headquartered in Slough, Berkshire, and has operations in around 60 countries. Its products
are sold in nearly 200 countries.[25]
The company runs a number of graduate programmes, in most of its markets, with over 200
graduates joining the schemes worldwide.[26] Once hired, graduates tend to work for a couple of
years as a trainee in the country in which they were originally employed, followed by a posting
overseas for those who have excelled during initial training. Graduate trainees start off in one of the
firm's business areasmarketing and sales, supply chain, research and development, human
resources and information systems.

Products[edit]
RB organises the majority of its products into three main categories health, hygiene and home
with other brands belonging to three further categories: food, pharmaceuticals and portfolio brands.
The company's strategy is to have a highly focused portfolio concentrating on its 19 most profitable
brands, which are responsible for 70% of net revenues.[27]
Reckitt Benckiser currently produces the following products:[28]

"Powerbrands"

Brasso

French's Foods

Air Wick

Brio

Glass Mates

Amope

Bryza

Glass Plus

Calgon

Calgonit

Glassex

Cillit Bang

Cattlemen's

Hoffmann's

Dettol

Cpacol

Intima Liasan / Intim

Durex

Ceraclen

Kalia

Cherry Blossom

Kaltron

Clean and Smooth

K-Y

Clearasil

Lanacane

Cling

Lanza

Cling Free

Lemsip

Finish (previously Electrasol in

North America)

French's

Gaviscon

Harpic

Lemsip

Cobra Brilliant Shiner

Lewis Red Devil

Lysol

Colon

Lime-A-Way

MegaRed

Coral

Lovela

Mortein

d-CON

Masterpiece Metalis

Mucinex

Delsym

Mop & Glo

Nurofen

Digestive Advantage

Move Free

Scholl

dip-it

Mr. Sheen

Strepsils

Disprin

Mr. Min

Vanish

Dosia

Nenuco

Veet

E45

Neutra-Air

Easy-Off

NoSalt

Other

Aerogard

Easy On

Noxon

Airborne

Elena

Nugget

Amphyl

Frank's RedHot

Nurofen for Children

Bonjela

Durex condoms

Glass Plus glass cleaner

Lysol multi-surface cleaner

Strepsils throat lozenges

Suboxone sublingual film

Corporate governance[edit]
RB's current directors are: Rakesh Kapoor, Adrian Bellamy, Dr. Peter Harf, Jaspal Bindra, Nicandro
Durante, Mary Harris, Adrian Hennah, Ken Hydon, Dr. Pamela Kirby, Andr Lacroix, Sue
Shim, Christopher Sinclair, Judith Sprieser, Doug Tough, and Warren Tucker.[29] Current members of

the executive committee are: Rob de Groot, Amadeo Fasano, Roberto Funari, Frederic Larmuseau,
Darrell Stein, and Deborah Yates.[30]
From the company's creation in 1999 until he retired in 2011, Bart Becht was CEO. He was widely
credited with the company's recent success. The Guardian called him "one of the most successful
businessmen of his generation". Under him, the company focused on its core brands, and on
improving efficiency in the supply chain. It also increased its marketing budget.
[12]
BusinessWeek noted that "40% of RB's $10.5 billion in 2007 revenues came from products
launched within the previous three years".[13] Becht was Britain's highest-paid businessman, taking
home more than 90 million in 2009.[31] In April 2011, he announced that he would step down in
September of that year, to be replaced by Rakesh Kapoor, who had been with the company since
1987. Reckitt Benckiser shares fell by 6.6% on the news. [32]

Corporate social responsibility[edit]

RB has held Platinum status in the Business in the Community CR Index, [33] since 2005 and in 2009
entered the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. [34]

Save the Children[edit]

Save the Children has described RB as its "most valuable UK-based corporate supporter". [35] Their
staff fundraises in many different ways, from football tournaments and silly hat wearing to payroll
giving and marathon running. Members of staff in 2009 completed a global employee trek, facing the
challenges of natural disaster and altitude sickness in order to raise almost 250,000 for the charity.
In 2011 a group of 65 RB employees took part in a Global Challenge in Brazil, some undertaking a
dangerous trek and others volunteering on a community project.[36] In June 2012, 20 employees from
six countries across Latin America took part in a gruelling trek challenge and helped to build a
community centre in Cali, Colombia, raising 63,000 for Save the Children.
In its Full Year Results for 2012, RB stated it had helped to reach approximately 325,000 children
and families in 2012 and since the relationship with Save The Children began in 2006 the initiative
has reached nearly 900,000 vulnerable children and families.[37]

Carbon 20[edit]
RB implemented an environmental initiative called Carbon 20.[38] The initiative, which was announced
in November 2007, aimed to cut the total carbon footprint of its productsfrom creation to disposal
by 20% by 2020. As part of the initiative the company has reduced by 70% the amount of plastic in
the packaging of its Vanish cleaner.[39]
In January 2010, RB announced that they had already reached the halfway mark on their carbon
reduction target in the third year of the Carbon20 initiative. RB stated "Over 3 million tonnes of
CO2 was avoided last year by an 11% reduction per unit dose in the carbon impact across our
products life cycle the same impact as taking nearly 1,000,000 cars off the road". RB cited new
programmes to redesign products using fewer materials and less energy, packaging, and waste,

along with moving a number of factories and plants to combined heat and power energy systems as
the main contributors to achieving the target so far.[40]
The Independent characterised the Carbon 20 initiative as "a typically savvy bit of marketing" [41] on
the part of Bart Becht, the company's former CEO. It observed that RB's initiative seemed to go
further than similar green initiatives by other companies, and that it would lead to increased profits.
In New York in February 2009, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against RB and others. The petition seeks
to compel the companies to identify all of the ingredients used in their products. [42] Earthjustice
contacted several companies in September 2008 requesting that they comply with a 1971 law
requiring them to disclose the ingredients in their products and make available any associated health
or safety studies. RB and the other defendants ignored or refused the request. [43]

betterbusiness[edit]
In September 2012, following the success of Carbon 20, RB launched a new strategy for sustainable
innovation, betterbusiness, which focuses on the changing needs of women and the scarcity of
water.[44] The initiative sets three key goals for 2020: a third of net revenue to come from more
sustainable products, a reduction in the water impact per product by one-third across its lifecycle and
a reduction in carbon footprint per dose by a third.[45]

RB Trees[edit]
In June 2006, RB launched RB Trees (then known as Trees for Change), a major forestation project
designed to offset the greenhouse gases created as a by-product of its manufacturing processes.
The project aims to plant 10,000,000 trees, on land used or previously cleared for cultivation, to turn
this back to forest.[46]

Anti-competitive behaviour[edit]
In 2008 the BBC's Newsnight[47][48] accused Reckitt Benckiser of attempting to delay the introduction
of a competitive, generic version of one of its most popular products,Gaviscon, a treatment
for heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease. In his introduction, reporter Martin Shankleman
said, "Gaviscon is hailed as a power brand by its owners, Reckitt Benckiser". He continued,
"Reckitt Benckiser likes to claim that the profits flow from their expertise in marketing. But we know
that there's another way in which they've been coining it in-by ripping-off the NHS, as a whistleblower has told us.
The "whistle-blower" was shown in silhouette, and his words were spoken by an actor: "Reckitt's
cheated the National Health Service. It could have saved the NHS millions of pounds. But not just
the NHS, patients, doctorsthey've cheated health professionals. I felt it had to be exposed".

Newsnight claimed that RB had a "secret plan to ensure that it kept its stranglehold" after the
Gaviscon patent expired in 1999, and that Newsnight had seen the plan. TheDepartment of
Health asked Newsnight to hand its documents to the NHS counter-fraud service.
The investigation was widely reported in the British press. The Guardian quoted a leaked memo in
which the product's manager explained that the company could use "the rationale of health and
safety" to design a switched product to "muddy the waters." [49] The newspaper quoted RB as stating
that the leaked memos were "inappropriate and did not reflect Reckitt's eventual actions".
The Independent quoted Warwick Smith, director of the British Generic Manufacturers Association
(BGMA): "The sort of evergreening alleged by Newsnight can cost the NHS tens of millions of
pounds with no patient benefit."[50] It also quoted a statement issued by the company: "...RB is a
responsible company and we have therefore instigated an immediate internal investigation and will
take action. However, we do not accept much of what has been alleged."
The Times noted that "Although Gaviscon has been out of patent for almost ten years, no other
manufacturer has developed a cheap generic version. Such a drug could have saved the NHS up to
40 million."[51] It stated that the Office of Fair Trading was expected to examine whether Reckitt had
acted illegally. It also printed verbatim extracts from several of the leaked memos.
[52]
The Times report included an extract from the statement issued by the company (see below).
In response to the Newsnight report and the reports in the press, RB issued a statement that began:
We are shocked by the allegations made as Reckitt Benckiser is a responsible company in the way it
conducts its business.
Nevertheless, we are deeply concerned by the inappropriate sentiment expressed in some of the
historic internal correspondence reported. We take this very seriously and have instigated an
immediate internal investigation, and will take action. We also refute much of what has been
reported which implies a power and influence we simply do not possess.
The company has never objected to a monograph driven generic name being published. The
timetable of which is not, and never has been, within our control a monograph/generic name could
have been published at any time by the regulators without reference to any third party.
The company made appropriate challenges where it felt it was justified in order to ensure patients
are prescribed the right treatment. These were within the law and relevant regulations. We stress
that the regulators only take a comment into account when it is valid.[53]
On 15 October 2010, RB was fined 10.2 million by the Office of Fair Trading after the company
admitted anti-competitive behaviour.[54]

Legal challenges to rodenticide regulations[edit]

In 2008 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a decision to remove
second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides from store shelves, leaving the products available for

purchase only by US licensed applicators. The ruling was slated to go into effect in 2011 allowing
poison companies time to adjust to the new law. EPA's decision was based on tens of thousands of
reports of pet, wildlife and child poisonings that resulted annually from rat poisons in the US alone. In
2011, Reckitt Benckiser makers of d-CON products initiated a legal challenge to the EPA expected to
take several years to resolve. Early in 2014, California State Department of Pesticide Regulation
ruled that anticoagulant rat poison sales would be restricted beginning on 1 July 2014. RB filed suit
in San Diego County Superior Court in April 2014 to block the decision.[55][56]

MANAGING DIGITAL:
RECKITT
BENCKISERS VP
MARKETING
VP to agencies: understand consumers' digital behaviour and deliver
KPIs

STEPHAN ARGENT MAY 22, 2015

In this series on managing the digital revolution, Ari Aronson and Stephan
Argent collect insights from both the agency and the brand sides of the street.
This week, Marketing contributor Stephan Argent chats with Shailesh
Shukla, vice-president marketing & trade marketing at Reckitt Benckiser, to
get an idea how the company is navigating its way through the digital marketing
revolution.
Whats your vision for the future of digital in your organization?
Its defined by what we do. We are in the business of providing solutions for
consumers that lead to healthier lives and happier homes and how the
consumer is moving into the digital world will dictate the role of digital. Right

now, digital is becoming the lead in terms of consumer communications, media

and content.
Overtime I see development of etailing and direct selling to the consumer
becoming a larger portion of digital, though that will take time.
The third thing coming to the fore is market research because its a tool that
leads to input into R+D into what consumers are looking for and asking for.
But above all, our vision will be driven by consumers digital behaviour because
we are here to service the consumer.
What areas of digital do you do in-house vs. outsource, and why?
Brand strategy, digital strategy and how our digital footprint is interacting with
the consumer is all done internally. The media strategy and deployment, content
strategy and content deployment is outsourced. The one exception, our online
video buying is done in house because we have a huge volume of online video
across the world, and we have a central team that buys that for us.
Do you use a one-stop agency or split out digital separately, and why?
At the moment its split out separately for two reasons:
First because we could not find one agency that was expert in all aspects of
digital. Knowing consumer behaviour with a particular category in digital was
important in planning. We needed expertise in managing search and
optimization in specific categories. We needed expertise in social, CRM as well
as programmatic buying and so on. And we just didnt find all that expertise in
one place.
Second, as we started walking in this [digital] space, all these new technologies
and ways of connecting with the consumer started coming up and we were
approached by companies like Facebook, which demonstrated its expertise in
specific areas. So the fact the new technologies were emerging and our
agencies werent comprehending all of them, we had to form specialist
partnerships where necessary.
How has digital impacted your marketing org chart?
The only way it has impacted us is that we have a digital manager in-house now.
What its really impacted is the thinking of our marketing organization and being
digital at heart and digital first because the comfort levels used to take them
back to traditional. But, the thinking now is rapidly evolving to digital first and
digital at heart because thats the most important and complex thing to grasp
and deploy. Im pushing the team to think digital first and digital at heart.

What are the biggest challenges youre facing from a digital

perspective?
I need our digital agencies and partners to have the expertise to understand the
consumer digital behaviour in relation to the category.
For example, how the consumer interacts with removing a stain from their
clothes digitally is completely different from the same consumers behaviour
when it comes to preventing cold and flu infection in their home digitally. One
requires an immediate solution to get rid of the stain and search might be the
most obvious interaction digitally, and we have to be number one there. If
someone is concerned about germs in cold and flu season, then they may be
looking for content and going into sites and information areas that may not be
driven by search.
Thats where we sometimes apply digital as a tool without really thinking about
the real objective or the KPI. At times Ive seen the same strategy come to me
for Resolve stain remover and the same strategy for Lysol. But its different. We
have to ask have we thought through how the consumer is using digital in
relation to the category. We are marketing in a digital world, were not doing
digital marketing for the sake of digital.
What are the key expectations from your brand team and digital
partner?
Three things:

Understand my brand and my consumer

Understand the digital consumer behaviour in relation to the category
Deliver the media and content strategy accordingly
Everything should align and all the dots should connect.
What key lessons have you learned as an organization when it comes
to digital?
What we are learning now is that digital is very shiny and very exciting. There
seems to be a new tool and a new app everyday and we can sometimes get
carried away. So there are two things that we need to do. First we have to ask,
does it make sense with what we want to achieve with the consumer, is this the
right bridge connecting us with the consumer, or is it a nice shiny toy and Im
running after it?
Second, whats the ROI? We sometimes get very excited and we run it, but we
realize its not the right bridge that connects us to the consumer and weve
wasted time and money and we dont see an appropriate ROI.

Do you decide how to allocate budget between traditional and digital?

Its driven by our objectives. Theres no directive as to what the percentages
should be. Its driven by what the brand objectives, media objectives, consumer
digital behaviour and what our consumers are looking for. I expect it to grow, but
what I dont want to do is make it a fixed percentage of say 60% because then
well make it 60% without thinking about what really makes sense.
How can agencies be more effective to you and other marketers in their
digital solutions?
Understand what the brands strategy and objectives are. Clearly understand
what the consumer digital behaviour is and deliver the brand KPIs in that
manner with the right tools. I want my agencies to keep on bringing the new
shiny apps and solutions to us, after thinking through whether it makes sense,
while educating us on whats changing consumer behaviour in the digital world.

Reckitt Benckiser and

Unilever's marketing
strategies provide a study in
contrasts
by Gemma Charles, 04.08.2008
inShare

LONDON - When it emerged last week that Unilever's chief executive Patrick Cescau
was stepping down from his post, a clutch of internal candidates were suggested as
possible successors. Alongside the Unilever executives, however, the name of Bart
Brecht, Cescau's opposite number at Reckitt Benckiser, cropped up.
Even if Unilever plays it safe and opts for one of its own, this will be no reflection on its
rival's business performance. While Reckitt wowed the City last week with its figures operating profit increased by 22% in the second quarter - Unilever's were
underwhelming. The owner of Dove, Vaseline and Hellmann's posted only a 6.8% rise in
sales over the same period, achieved largely through price rises.
'Our performance in the first half year has been good in what has been a challenging
environment,' argued Cescau. The City begged to differ, and concern over Unilever's flat
volume growth sent its share price tumbling.
The companies' fortunes contrast sharply. Cescau, who became Unilever's first group
chief executive after its infamous first ever profit warning in 2004, has overseen a painful
restructuring programme. The drive, 'One Unilever', aims to cut costs by streamlining the
unwieldy country-run businesses into a tighter operation, running ad campaigns and
new product development on a global basis.
Unilever has made high-profile disposals to focus resources on its most successful
lines. It sold both its European frozen-food business, which included Birds Eye, and the
Bertolli olive oil brand.
Reflecting on the restructure, Fernand De Boer, an analyst for investment bank
Petercam, says: 'It's going OK internally but the outside world is changing more than
Unilever could have expected.' De Boer predicts a gloomy outlook for Unilever, with flat
volume growth as consumers shift to cheaper, private-label goods.
Reckitt went through its own organisational changes in the late 90s, after the merger
between Reckitt & Colman and Benckiser, having sold the Colman's food business in

1995. As a result, commentators say it has already reached the place where Unilever is
striving to be.
'Reckitt is a more focused company that has had fewer evolution problems than
Unilever,' says Investec consumer goods analyst Martin Deboo.
A former Unilever executive adds: 'The choice Cescau had was to split food from
household and personal care, or drive them together to find synergies. He chose the
latter and it has been successful, but what has been more difficult is driving innovation.'
Being innovative has posed no problem for Reckitt, whose business is built on cleaning
products, including Cillit Bang and Harpic, and, latterly, over-the-counter medicines,
after its 1.9bn acquisition of Boots Healthcare International in 2005. Impressively, 40%
of Reckitt's revenue is from products launched in the past three years.
'In household goods it tends to be the newer products that do well,' says Adrian Atterby,
industry analyst for household care products at Euromonitor. He adds that Reckitt's
portfolio in niche, high-margin household categories such as stain removal - instead of
slugging it out with Unilever in detergents - works in its favour too.
Supermarkets are less concerned about entering these categories because of their
smaller scale, contends Atterby.
Marketing spend is another factor where Reckitt is outpacing Unilever. Although the
latter spends almost twice as much on advertising, Reckitt's UK spend is increasing,
while Unilever's is falling.
A spokeswoman for Reckitt says it focuses on 17 'power brands'. 'We're a fast-paced
organisation; quick and direct. There are only a couple of layers between the UK
marketing director and the chief executive,' she says.
Deboo believes that whoever takes over Unilever must drive Cescau's organisational
reforms. He sees no problem with the strategy of keeping its food and household and
personal care businesses together and supports its aggressive push into emerging
markets.
Reckitt, with its recession-resistant products, so far seems to be weathering the
downturn better than Unilever. It will be a brave soul who takes up Cescau's mantle,
however, if a full-blown recession does indeed come to pass.

Reckitt Benckiser: Creating A Game-Changing Media Strategy

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Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Brandon Gutman,CONTRIBUTOR

In this Brand Innovator Spotlight, Marc Fonzetti, Head of Media at

Reckitt Benckiser, proves how one individual can transform a large
organization and shares his process in full detail.

Brandon Gutman: Tell me how your work at Reckitt

Benckiser pushed you into the spotlight.
Marc Fonzetti: In my first three years with the company, I was the
head of digital, responsible for everything from our websites to our
eCRM program to building our digital media footprint which was
really my passion point. It was tough coming from the pure play
digital arena where everyone believed in the power of digital as a
medium to a large corporation where digital was not yet in the core
consideration set. A few months into the job I knew I had my work cut
out for me. So, I started by listening to and learning from the
marketers, ABMs and MDs, anyone who showed any interest who
could be an advocate at some point. What were their knowledge base,
concerns and opinions of digital advertising? What would it take to
convince them to consider it and then prove to them that it worked?
Working with RB Global Media, we identified online video as the
evolving media in the industry and a lot of white space in terms of
being able to take a competitive advantage by using it. Now that I had
a focus, I went to work understanding the ecosystem, key players,
personally meeting (along with my media agency) and sitting down to
negotiate with dozens of online video providers, working with a new
online video ad serving and auditing company (Telemetry) to develop
systems that streamlined the delivery and reporting of dozens of
partners into a single dashboard, and in general, leading the
integration of Internet video with traditional TV, a process that
combines ongoing media research, highly accountable digital video
measurement and a proprietary methodology to generate an iGRP and
combine Internet video and TV GRPs. This led to an Ad Age Media
Maven Award in 2009 and ultimately a promotion in 2010 to my
current leadership role within RB as Head of Media for RB North
America.
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Ive heard the term change agent used to describe

Marc Fonzetti from others in the industry; how did you
get such a big global organization to change?
I can summarize into a few key needs and steps:
1) Passion. You cannot evoke great change alone; so know your
passion will drive you, will be infectious and will get others to follow.
2) Vision. Know your work and stay ahead of the curve. Understand
less about what new technology does and how it works but how does it
facilitate business and work as yet another tool in your media and
marketing arsenal.
3) Small wins. Rome was not built in a day. I started by appealing to
ABMs and the lower tier of the org chart to get peer support and to
learn their business. Once confident there, I worked my way up the
ladder, refining my story and offerings. I made every opportunity to
test count, by working with the media agency to develop strong plans
and the research folks to make it measurable and accountable. Its
hard to ignore strong results, no matter how small at first, when you
have proof that you can scale!
4) Bridge the gap between media and marketers knowledge and
language, especially with digital. This is a tough one and is where the
digital media industry has not done itself any favors in the past fifteen
years. Traditional media and digital media talk different languages,
metrics, currencies and results. Marketers need to think in big
picture, big dollars and results such as short term sales and long term

brand equity. Digital media vendors and even agencies still talk in
impressions, clicks, and engagement. See the disconnect? I make it
my mission to be the translator at RB so marketing understands
what the heck the digital guys are so excited about when its put in
front of them as a proposal.
How are you continuing to evoke change in your larger
role and responsibility for integrated media?
Just as I walked into RB four years ago and re-wrote the digital plan, I
basically did the same thing with the entire media strategy for 2011.
In my first nine months as Head of Media, I changed media agencies,
managed my first TV upfront, utilized new strategic media planning
tools and research and basically tore up the previous media strategy
and plans for RB. Of course, it was a little easier and happened a lot
quicker this time because I now have the support and trust of upper
management. Have a look at the Kantar Media competitive reports a
few months into 2011 and youll see what I mean!
How do the advertising and media industries need to
evolve in the next few years?
When it comes to the complex things we are facing as a global community today:
a down economy, uncertain future, constantly evolving technologies, consumers
taking control, media fragmentation, measurable-everything and
commoditization of non creative ideas (to borrow the term from Randall
Rothenberg, CEO of the IAB), too many businesses are confused, overwhelmed
and tend to go back to what they know. Its my job at RB and the media
industrys as a whole to make all of the good bits of this change understandable
and actionable. Im not saying we turn everything into GRPs but that may be step
1.0. We need common metrics and currencies across more sexy media such as
social media, search and mobile applications. We need to determine how an
engaged eyeball is different from a passive eyeball. This needs to happen
throughout the entire process from truly integrated planning, to buying, to
establishing success criteria & metrics, to research and, of course, when talking to
marketers and executive management. Last but not least, digital creative
development, process and comparison to traditional (TV/Print) also needs a bit
of work as that is the glue that ties the media togetherbut thats for another day.

Reckitt's 'Power Brands'

Strategy Pays Off

ByElaine Wong

July 29, 2009, 12:00 AM EDT

Advertising & Branding

Advertisement

If the most recent round of earnings is any indication, the recession still
hasnt let up on packaged goods companies. Kimberly-Clark, which owns
Huggies and Cottonelle, for instance, said net sales fell 5.6 percent to $4.7
billion in its second quarter. Procter & Gamble, which is scheduled to report
fiscal year fourth quarter earnings next week, saw net sales decline 8
percent to $18.4 billion in the third quarter. Wall Street is keeping an eye on

anotheralbeit smallerpackaged goods company: Reckitt Benckiser. The

maker of Lysol and Mucinex in the U.S. today (Wednesday) reported a 20
percent increase in second quarter sales to 1.9 billion pounds ($3.1 billion);
profits were up 31 percent to 310 million pounds ($507.5 million). The
increase, the company claims, was fueled by innovation and marketing
investments behind its 17 global power brands. Reckitt has unleashed new
product extensions like Spray N Wash Bright & White, Resolve Deep Clean
Powder and concentrated versions of its fabric care brand, Woolite. Rob de
Groot, executive vp of North America and Australia, said there is a lot of
room for growth. (Reckitt is a $40 billion company, compared to P&G at
$83.5 billion.) The company has an opportunity to increase its presence in
the U.S.such as with the rebranding of Electrasol to Finish, and growing the
Mucinex brand, which has only tapped into 25 percent of the U.S. population.
De Groot (pictured) talked with Brandweek about Reckitt's strategy and why
it's working despite the economic slump.

B R A N D W E E K : Reckitt Benckiser has been posting consistently strong

quarterly earnings, as larger rivals like Procter & Gamble and Unilever have
taken a hit from the recession. Whats your strategy for growing brands
and salesin tough times?
R O B D E G R O O T: Its a good set of results that were happy to give to the outside
world. It is something to be glad about. Its also confirming the strategy that weve had
for the last 10 years. Its a very focused strategy. We have 17 power brands that we focus
on as a company. [Eleven of those 17 power brands are in North America, including
Clearasil, Calgon and Frenchs.] And its very focused on those power brands and fueling
those power brands with investments. Its something weve done differently than other
players, which is to continue to invest and focus on our [core] brands in tough times.
The [strategy] is two parts: [The first is innovation] and [second] is investment, or
money to communicate to consumers. Were moving away from a world where we split
marketing and sales and trade. Were talking very much about our consumers and they
have different touch points with which they get their information from: There is TV,
Internet and in-store, of course. One of the things we started a few years ago is to
communicate360 degrees, as we call itwith consumers and we try to touch them at
different moments of the day at different moments of their life. And so, our investment

towards the consumer has been more multi than single point and the number of
connections we have with consumers is much higher than before.
BW: Does it help to be the smaller competitor? That is, consumers in the
U.S.while they may know Lysol, Spray N Wash and Woolitearent as
familiar with the Reckitt brand. Is that a disadvantage in any way?
R G : Consumers are not buying companies, they are buying brands. First and foremost,
we fuel our brands with investments rather than the corporate brands. At the same time,
we also address our corporate brand identity, but that is to a very focused and targeted
audience.
[And so, like I was saying,] consumers are shopping for brands in these tough times, but
they are also coming back to strong brands because they dont want to take any risks.
They dont want to buy something, try it out and then find it doesnt work. Consumers
going back to strong brands in tough times is something were seeing happening [right
now].
BW: Reckitt recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of its new
corporate brand identity, RB. (Havas Euro RSCG and Omnicom Groups
OMD, both in London, collaborated on the effort.) How has that campaign
been aiding both corporate and brand awareness thus far?
R G : Its too early to tell . . . We just launched it. But we dont have the pretension that
the whole world is going to know [who] RB or Reckitt Benckiser [is]. Its clearly
[targeted towards] investors, but they already know [who we are]. But we also try to
target very much the [younger professionals], which is much more of our strategy: To
make sure people know who has been the winner in the market for the last five years
and that were actually a slightly different company from a recruiting standpoint and it
might be fun to work here. That is the heart of the campaign.
BW: In March, Reckitt announced it was shifting $20 million in TV advertising dollars to
online. How has that initiative been paying off?
R G : Its too early to say, This is the best move ever. Or, Its working better than other
[strategies weve tried]. Toward the end of the year, well have made up our minds over where
well invest more and where well do something different. This is looking at Reckitt not as a
whole, but brand by brand. Its very different if youre speaking to a Clearasil consumer than to
someone whos dealing with Spray N Wash or one of our other brands.
BW: How big of a threat is private label in the categories Reckitt plays in?

R G : Private label is active. Its growing actively in the market, and in the U.S., in particular. But
the Reckitt portfolio grows faster in market share than private label. Yes, private label is picking
up, but not at our expense at this point in time.
BW: Lysol, one of Reckitts biggest brands in the U.S., saw a direct lift in sales as a result of
the H1N1 swine flu virus. Has public concern over that pandemic largely gone under the
radar or do you expect it to heat up again as we enter cold and flu season?
R G : Lysol is one of the brands consumers are going back to. Its also been compensating for a
very soft flu season at the beginning of the year, which was good newsbecause it meant less
people were illbut for the Lysol franchise, it helped compensate for that. Weve also not
exploited [the H1N1 pandemic] in our commercials, which, as a company, we dont want to do.
[This outbreak] is serious. The No. 1 thing we should do as a company is educate our consumers,
which weve done with different touch points. Its not about saying, Lysol kills the swine flu. Go
out and buy this product.
[Regarding whether H1N1 has fallen off consumers radars,] I dont think this is the case
worldwide. The [number of] incidents [is] lower in the U.S., but the opposite is true in Europe.
We are ready for when it comes back, but as I said, we will not exploit this in our
communication. Everything we do will be very much in line with what the CDC [Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention] is doingwhich is educating and giving consumers the right
advice.
BW: Any marketing strategies/campaigns youve tried recently that were an instant hit that
youd like to share?
R G : Finish is a fantastic example of how to create loyalty. We rebranded it from Electrasol to
Finish. At the same time, we launched Finish Quantum in the U.S. That is gaining share in the
market and shows extensive high loyalty.
I think we should also be happy with the continued success of Mucinex. There is less of a new
factor on that brand, but it has so much mileage to grow into the future. Despite being No. 1 in
the market right now, it has only reached 25 percent of the consumers that it can reach. So you
will see with [new] campaigning and packaging
were taking it to the next level in the coming six
months.