[Interview] Stefan Pichler (Henkel): “When purchasing power improves again, brands will be on the winning side”

Henkel has not fully passed higher costs on to consumers, and this year as well price increases will remain limited, Stefan Pichler says. The President Benelux believes that consumers will soon return to strong A-brands from private labels.

Clear choices

Since October last year, the Austrian has been President of Henkel in the Benelux region. He also heads the Henkel Consumer Brands division, which brings together all the group’s consumer activities. “Before that merger, we had three business units: Adhesive Technologies, Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care. We merged the latter two last year, which made sense given the many similarities: we speak to the same customers and the same consumers. People wash with Persil and use Schwarzkopf shampoo. It is also more efficient for our retail partners, who now have one contact instead of two.”