McBride to cut costs by closing factory
European contract manufacturer McBride is planning to shut its Coventry factory in an effort to offset rising costs...More>>
5 September 2008
Unilever appoints new chief exec
Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever has finally chosen a successor to current chief executive Patrick Cescau...More>>
4 September 2008
P&G adds volume to hair care business with Nioxin purchase
US FMCG giant Procter & Gamble has bought Nioxin Research Laboratories...More>>
3 September 2008
Lush puts shark hunters on the hook
A performance artist had her skin pierced with shark hooks and was suspended from the ceiling in the window of a London Lush beauty shop to mimic how the animals are cruelly hunted for their fins...More>>
3 September 2008
MRC report creates unfounded fear in pregnant women: CTPA
A report from the Medical Research Council has found that the use of perfumes during pregnancy may cause unborn boys to develop infertility or cancer later in life...More>>
2 September 2008
Byte-size fragrance
Taiwanese tech company Asus has taken fragrance into a new arena...More>>
2 September
European contract manufacturer McBride is planning to shut its Coventry factory in an effort to offset rising costs.
The timing of the closure has not been disclosed but approximately 10% of the workforce is facing redundancy, according to the Financial Times.
The rest may be deployed to McBride’s new factory in St Helens, which is due to come on stream shortly.
McBride also said that it would raise its prices as it hasn’t yet passed on its higher input costs to its customers.
The news comes on the back of disappointing results for the company. Turnover may have risen 18% to £700.9m in the first half of the year, but 15% of this came from last year’s acquisitions of Chemolux and Dasty.
Pretax profit, meanwhile, fell nearly 47% to £15.7m, driven down by rising raw materials and fuel costs, while earnings per share were almost halved from 11.9 to 6.4p.
“We continue to be the leading provider of private label, household and personal care products in Europe ,” said chief executive Miles Roberts. “We are also maintaining our intense focus on product development, customer service and driving operational efficiencies so that we remain the partner of choice for all our customers.”
Founded in 1898, McBride has 15 factories in six countries and supplies private label personal care products to supermarkets such as Carrefour, Metro and Tesco as well as Wal-Mart, El Corte Ingles, Marks and Spencer and Karstadt Quelle.
4 September 2008
Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever has finally chosen a successor to current chief executive Patrick Cescau.
The company has appointed Paul Polman, the current excecutive vice president and zone director for the Am eric as at Nestle.
Polman’s appointment to Unilever’s board will be formally confirmed at an extraordinary general meeting in the autumn and the company says he will take over as chief executive when Cescau retires at the end of the year.
Chairman Michael Treschow said Cescau had markedly improved Unilever’s performance under his four-year leadership and Polman would continue his work.
“He is a great talent with significant international experience and an excellent track record. We are delighted that he has agreed to join the business and to lead Unilever into the next stage of its development,” Treschow added.3 September 2008
US FMCG giant Procter & Gamble has bought Nioxin Research Laboratories.
Noixin specialises in scalp care for the professional hair care market, with a range of products that promise to improve the appearance of thinning hair.
“This acquisition is a great strategic fit given P&G leadership and proven strength in its retail scalp care business,” said Robert Jongstra, president, P&G professional care. “Further, P&G’s global scale creates opportunities to further grow the Nioxin brand in key markets around the world.”
P&G says it plans to manage this growth with Nioxin’s current organisation, product portfolio and distribution partners. Underlining this continuity, Brian Graham will stay on as Nioxin ceo and will continue to lead the business.
Privately owned Nioxin was founded in 1987 by Eva Graham and distributes its products in 42 countries.
The acquisition fits P&G’s stategy of investing in fast growing, high margin categories and follows its purchase of the Frédéric Fekkai premium hair care business in April.
3 September 2008
A performance artist had her skin pierced with shark hooks and was suspended from the ceiling in the window of a London Lush beauty shop to mimic how the animals are cruelly hunted for their fins.
The stunt, which was performed by former Lush employee Alice Newstead at Lush’s Regent Street shop at noon on Wednesday, is being held for the launch of a joint campaign with the beauty retailer and charity Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
The campaign’s aim is to raise awareness about declining shark populations from demand for shark fin soup and other shark related products, which is pushing the species towards extinction.
As part of its fundraising efforts for the 10-day campaign, Lush is making 11,416 bars of soap called “Shark Fin Soap” to represent the number of sharks killed each hour with all of the proceeds from the sale of the soap going to Sea Shepherd.
In all 88 of Lush’s UK stores, there will be a video in the front display window showing footage of sharks having their fins cut off and thrown back into the ocean while they are bleeding and still alive.
2 September 2008
A report from the Medical Research Council has found that the use of perfumes during pregnancy may cause unborn boys to develop infertility or cancer later in life.
The results were drawn from research on rats that showed male foetuses could be damaged by chemicals in cosmetics that could lead to infertility or testicular cancer.
Heading up the study was Prof Richard Sharpe of the MRC said that women could stop using cosmetics and perfumes but there isn’t any conclusive evidence to show that these products will indefinitely cause harm to their unborn child.
The Cosmetics Perfumeries and Toiletries Association (CTPA), however, said the reporting of the MRC study in the mainstream media has caused many women to have been “unnecessarily alarmed,” and that cosmetic products should still be considered safe for use during pregnancy.
Further, the CTPA said that the results weren’t surprising given that they came from giving large doses of cosmetics to rats and therefore do not mimic the typical low dosage that humans use on a daily basis.2 September 2008
Taiwanese tech company Asus has taken fragrance into a new arena. The company has created a quartet of limited edition laptops, each of which has a fragrance to match its design.
Floral Blossom, for example, is pink and has a corresponding floral scent. Musk Black is decorated with sports graffiti and exudes an earthy musk fragrance. Pastel green Morning Dew emits the scent of early morning air, while Aqua Ocean has an appropriately marine fragrance and is decorated with sky and wave images.