German consumer goods group Henkel wants to step up digital sales of its core brands, focusing on emerging markets and a younger generation which is increasingly shopping online, its chief executive said on Thursday. Known for washing powder Persil, beauty line Schwarzkopf and adhesives business Loctite, the German company presented a strategy for the years to 2020 with a stronger focus on developing digital distribution.
CEO Hans van Bylen, who took charge in May, said the group understood the growing importance of ecommerce and new sales channels.
"China is an interesting example for us in that regard," he said. "We entered the market with our beauty products relatively late but now generate half of our sales there digitally."
Henkel launched a partnership with local ecommerce giant Alibaba in October 2015 to sell its Schwarzkopf hair care brand exclusively in Asia's biggest economy, which van Bylen said was paying off.
The success of digital business in other countries, such as South Korea where 60 percent of Henkel's revenues are generated online, underlines Henkel's goal to double "digitally-driven" sales to more than 4 billion euros ($4.28 billion) by 2020.
Henkel also plans to develop new products, get them on to store shelves more quickly, enter new markets and consolidate manufacturing and logistics operations.
Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Christian Faitz, who has a "buy" recommendation on Henkel's stock, said the new strategy did not represent a revolution.