Henkel announces 300 million in new investments

CEO Hans Van Bylen is increasing Henkel‘s investment budget by 300 million euros per year to boost the growth rate. Digital transformation is at the top of the to-do list.

Four-chamber cap

About two thirds of the amount will be invested in brands, technologies and innovations; the last third will finance the digital transformation of the entire company. “We will step up our growth investments to build on our strengths and capture opportunities especially in our consumer goods businesses”, the CEO said. The manufacturer will be relaunching its entire hair care portfolio and is planning a major innovation offensive in detergents through its top brand Persil: they will be the first to launch a washing capsule with four chambers.

The company is also going to accelerate its digital transformation: products will have to hit the market in formats that are fit for e-commerce and new digital services will have to be created, while working more closely with e-commerce partners and Internet of Things applications. Henkel also intends to work on direct interaction with customers and consumers through digital channels. 

In 2018, Henkel had a turnover of 19.9 billion euros, a slightly disappointing underlying growth of 2.4%. Company profit only grew by 1% to 3.5 billion euros. The company has been struggling with competition and pressure on the prices.