The International Top 30.

 
The International Top 30 
 
1.  Unilever               United Kingdom    $21.8 billion 
2.  L'Oreal                France            $18.1 billion 
3.  Henkel                 Germany            $8.3 billion 
4.  Reckitt Benckiser      United Kingdom     $7.0 billion 
5.  Kao                    Japan              $6.9 billion 
6.  Shiseido               Japan              $5.9 billion 
7.  Beiersdorf             Germany            $5.0 billion 
8.  LVMH                   France             $2.8 billion 
9.  Lion                   Japan              $2.1 billion 
10. GlaxoSmithKline        United Kingdom     $1.7 billion 
11. Yves Rocher            France             $1.6 billion 
12. Kose                   Japan              $1.5 billion 
13. Amore Pacific          Korea              $1.3 billion 
14. Chanel                 France             $1.2 billion 
14. Clarins                France             $1.2 billion 
14. Puig                   Spain              $1.2 billion 
17. LG                     Korea              $948 million 
18. Natura                 Brazil             $942 million 
19. Pola                   Tokyo              $941 million 
20. PZ Cussons             United Kingdom     $896 million 
21. Body Shop              United Kingdom     $874 million 
22. Oriflame               Belgium            $858 million 
23. Pierre Fabre           France             $815 million 
24. YSL Beaute             The Netherlands    $763 million 
25. Colomer                Spain              $600 million 
26. The Bolton Group       The Netherlands    $585 million 
27. Sunstar                Japan              $575 million 
28. Menard                 Japan              $548 million 
29. Mandom                 Japan              $424 million 
30. Noevir                 Japan              $325 million 

1. Unilever

United Kingdom

www.unilever.com

Sales: $21.8 billion

Sales: : $21.8 billion for home and personal care. Corporate sales: $49.4 billion. Net income: $4.9 billion.

Key Personnel: Patrick Cescau, group chief executive; Kees van der Graaf, president, Europe; Ralph Kugler, president, home and personal care; Rudy Markham, chief financial officer.

Major Products: Personal care--Axe/Lynx, Rexona/Sure and Degree deodorants; Dove, Caress, Lux and Lever 2000 soaps; Pond's and Vaseline skin care products; Organics, Salon Selectives, SunSilk, Suave and ThermaSilk hair care products; Close-Up and Signal oral care products. Household--Ala, All, Omo and Wisk laundry detergents; Comfort and Snuggle fabric softeners; Domestos, Cif, DiverseyLever.

New Products: Personal Care--Dove Cool Moisture, Rexona Teens; Home Care--All Small & Mighty, All Cleans & Softens.

Comments: Unilever continues to streamline operations. At the close of 2005, nearly 80% of its turnover was managed through "One Unilever" organizations. By the end of this year, the company expects to deliver $871 million in savings and as much as $1.2 billion in 2007. The reorganization has already helped sales growth, as corporate sales were up 3% in 2005 after being flat in 2004.

Within the home and personal care group, sales rose and the company credited the Dove "Campaign for Real Beauty" as a big reason for the sales gain.

At the regional level, sales in developing and emerging markets continues to grow. The company notes that these countries will account for 90% of the world's population by 2010. For the first time, sales in developing and emerging markets exceeded sales in Western Europe. But as important as D&E markets may be, Unilever hasn't lost focus on Europe and North America.

In 2005, Unilever managed to grow its U.S. business 3.2% behind gains in home and personal care sales. As one might expect, gains in deodorant and personal wash sales helped in a big way as Axe posted double-digit growth, and consumer demand for Dove and Rexona remained strong.

But much work remains to be done in Europe as weakness in the UK led to a decline in home and personal care sales. Still there were a few successes, as the introduction of a new gel-layered detergent tablet helped make Skip the fastest-growing HPC brand in France.

In Asia and Africa, sales were up 6.9%, driven by the launch of new Lux and Pond's products. During the year, the company launched Dove in Indonesia, a Sunsilk summer range in southeast Asia and a new variant for Lux Super Rich in China. The home care unit was busy too, with a new version of Surf in Indonesia and Omo for sensitive skin in Turkey. In South Africa, Unilever relaunched Vaseline with new formulas and packaging and rolled out the country's first mass market male lotion: Vaseline for Men.

Although Unilever management is determined to cut costs, one thing remains the same--Unilever will maintain its dual corporate headquarters arrangement.

For the first quarter of 2006, corporate sales rose 8.6% to $11.8 billion, helped along by a 6.3% favorable gain in currency. At the close of the first quarter, Patrick Cescau, group chief executive, noted that the company is on track to sustain top line growth and improve margins. Although demand in Europe remains sluggish, there were signs of improvement. Meanwhile demand in developing and emerging markets remained robust.

Axe Continues to Cut Down the Competition

UNILEVER'S AXE has been one of the fastest growing brands in the AP/deo market, posting tremendous sales growth since it made its debut in the U.S. market in 2002. According to IRI, its sales in supermarkets, drugstores and mass outlets, excluding Wal-Mart, have risen from just under $27 million in 2004 to nearly $60 million in the 52 weeks ending this April 16.

What has fueled the Axe brand's swift rise in the marketplace? An expensive launch and savvy integrated deodorant marketing focused on male-female relationships rather than traditional sports marketing. Among Unilever's recent endeavors was work with MTV's The Gamekillers, a reality-based television special during which characters from the show helped launch Axe Dry antiperspirant stick's new advertising campaign. Now Axe has a tie in with myspace.com and Christine Dolce. Known as Forbidden, Dolce--who reportedly claims 850,000 "friends" and 30 million page views, not to mention photos scheduled for a future issue of Playboy--is listed as the official myspace group moderator and spokesmodel for Axe Dry Gamekillers.

Unilever spent considerable cash--approximately $100 million--to bring the Axe brand to the U.S. market, which has added new dollars to the company's coffers.

"They aren't making a lot of money on it, but it's growing well. They are building good brand equity," said Jason M. Gere, associate vice president, securities research-household products for A.G. Edwards & Son in New York City. Mr. Gere, who contends that despite Axe's success, efforts to revive Old Spice may have been a better deal for P&G's bottom line.

Sunsilk includes eight customized collections--shampoos, conditioners and 24/7 Cremes--specially formulated to resolve common and bothersome hair problems. Two of the eight collections are specially designed for Hispanic hair.

2. L'Oreal

France

www.loreal.com

Sales: $18.1 billion

Sales: $18.1 billion. Net income: $2.4 billion.

Key Personnel: Lindsay Owen-Jones, chairman; Jean-Pierre Meyers, vice chairman; Jean-Paul Agon, chief executive officer; Beatrice Dautresme, executive vice president, corporate communications and external affairs; Christian Mulliez, executive vice president, administration and finance; Marcel Lafforgue, executive vice president, production and technology; Geoff Skingsley, executive vice president, human resources; Jean-Francois Grollier, executive vice president, research and development; Alain Evrard, managing director, Africa; Marc Menesquen, managing director; luxury products division; Patrick Rabain, president, consumer products; Jean-Jacques Lebel, president, professional products; Laurent Attal, president and chief executive officer, L'Oreal USA.

Major Products: Hair care, skin care, sun care, color cosmetics, toiletries and fragrances marketed under such brand names as Artec, Biotherm, Cacheral, Carson, Helena Rubinstein, Lancome, Lanvin, La Roche-Posay, L'Oreal,

His Eyes are on the Prize

Jean-Paul Agon recently succeeded Lindsay-Owen Jones as chief executive officer of the largest beauty company in the world. Just last month, the French government announced it would honor Mr. Agon with the Legion of Honor award of merit.

Sunsilk Debuts in the U.S.

SUNSILK, one of the world's biggest hair care brands, debuted in North America in June after generating global sales of more than $1.2 billion a year. In fact, Sunsilk is the No. 1 brand in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

"We view North America as a big opportunity to continue the Sunsilk success story," said Esther Lem, vice president, North American hair care, Unilever. "Our learnings from around the globe, coupled with our deep insight into women in the U.S., allow us to offer unique solutions to address the hair problems of American women. Sunsilk is a fresh, new way to deal with hair."

L'Oreal Paris, L'Oreal Professionnel, L'Oreal Perfection, L'Oreal Kids, Kerastase, Redken, Inne, Laboratoires Garnier, Giorgio Armani, Harley Davidson, Matrix, Maybelline, Jade, Gemey Paris, Jean-Louis David, Dop, Cadonet, Jacques Dessange, Ralph Lauren, Redken, Soft Sheen.Carson and Vichy.

New Products: The Body Shop (acquisition). Professional-VolumeActive, Majirel colorants, ColorSmart. Consumer-RevitaLift Double Lifting skin care, Elseve Nutri-Gloss hair care and Volume Shocking mascara. Active Cosmetics-Aminexil SP94 hair loss treatment.

Comments: Corporate sales rose 6.5% last year and net income surged 37%.

But the big news out of France during the past 12 months wasn't about sales results. No, the big news has been the $1.17 billion acquisition of The Body Shop and the retirement of long-time CEO Lindsay Owen-Jones.

Of course, sales do matter and once again, L'Oreal didn't disappoint in 2005. By region, sales in western Europe rose a scant 0.1% to nearly $8.5 billion. But company executives were pleased with the way sales rose late in the year, as consumers went for "high value-added" products such as RevitaLift Double Lifting skin care and Elseve Nutri-Gloss hair care.

North America gained 6.4% to $5.0 billion buoyed by strong growth within the Garnier unit, particularly the Fructis line. Makeup sales were up due to several successful new product launches, and Redken provided a lift in the professional hair color category.

Sales in the rest of the world rose 12.6% to $4.5 billion. The gains were attributed to China and Indonesia, but the company noted that a distribution problem hurt results in South Korea.

Helped along by an 8.5% gain in the fourth quarter, sales in the professional products division rose 6.1% to $2.5 billion. The company credited the successful launch of the Kerastase Reflection range.

Consumer product division sales rose 4.6% to $9.3 billion. Strong results within the Garnier franchise were due to the UltraLift skin care range and Nutrisse hair colorants. L'Oreal Paris and Maybelline both recorded good gains too.

Within the luxury products segment, sales rose 2.7% to $4.4 billion. LancSme's sales were up, thanks to the success of Platineum skin care and L'Extreme mascara. Within the fragrance sector, Armani Code provided a lift.

The demand for effective skin care products helped…