On Thursday, April 29, 2010, the Annual General Meeting took place in the Congress Centrum in Hamburg. The most important topics of the report to shareholders were the business developments of 2009 and the outlook for 2010 as well as the further development of the Consumer Business Strategy.
Business Developments in 2009
“2009 was – as we all know – a very difficult year. Beiersdorf, too, had to face this challenge. I would like to make it clear from the beginning that we performed well. In fact, we were able to increase our market share in many countries. Nevertheless, given this very difficult market environment and a further increase in competition, we were unable grow at the same extraordinarily fast pace as in previous years,” said Thomas-B. Quaas, looking back at the business development in the previous year.
“We weathered the past year relatively well because we recognized the crisis and analyzed its effects early on, and drew the necessary conclusions quickly and flexibly,” the CEO explained.
Outlook for 2010: A New Reality
With respect to the current business year and the long term, Quaas emphasized that Beiersdorf cannot return to old certainties: “The past year created a “new reality”. These conditions will continue to determine our actions in future, too. We have to be prepared for, and align ourselves with this situation in terms of our strategy, our corporate structure, and last but not least, our behavior.” As a strategic answer to the “new reality” Thomas-B. Quaas presented the development of the Consumer Business Strategy with the core elements “Focus on skin care” and “Closer to markets.” “In principle, our motto is: Focus on your strengths. We will do this even more uncompromisingly in future than we already did in the past,” said the CEO. “We will react even more flexibly to consumers’ regional wishes and focus even more precisely on developments in different markets, thanks to our innovative products, flat hierarchies, and faster decision-making processes.”
At the same time the brands should continue to be strengthened. “We kept investments in marketing and research and development at a high level despite the crisis in 2009. And we have every intention of doing so in the future, too. We will not slow down, as this is the only way we will have the power we need in the coming years.”
The complete speech of the CEO is available here as a download.
