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| The Calm Before the Storm? A year ago, corporate ethics was the hot topic in U.S. business news. The year before that, restructuring was the big story. But, 2003 might best be remembered as a quiet year for most of the household and personal care companies profiled in The Top 50, Happi’s annual report on the leading U.S.-based companies that manufacture household, personal care and industrial and institutional products. A couple of years ago, many companies on our list undertook major housecleaning initiatives, eliminating weak brands, closing under-performing or unnecessary facilities and making key acquisitions. Several of these companies, including Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Avon Products and Estée Lauder, reported stellar results in 2003. Furthermore, it looks as though the U.S. household and personal products industry is strong enough to keep growth accelerating. Most companies in The Top 50 had good news to report for the first quarter of 2004, buoyed by the strong U.S. economy and a seemingly insatiable demand by consumers for a variety of products ranging from sun care lotions to anti-aging creams. The good news for suppliers is that in 2004, they finally were able to push some price increases through to their customers. A few years ago, vendors were hit by a perfect storm of overcapacity, an economic slowdown and the growing might of discounters such as Wal-Mart and dollar stores. Has the tide truly turned for vendors? In the short term, perhaps. But the long-range outlook for most categories in the household and personal products industry remains cloudy. Savvy shoppers are choosing private label products more frequently than ever, which is forcing marketers to introduce new products at a faster clip, even as they cut expenses in an effort to stay competitive. When they fix their gaze to the horizon, most marketers have their eyes on Eastern Europe, China and India. While activities in the U.S. and Western Europe will always remain brisk, nearly every multibillion player in the household and personal products industry understands that long-term growth must come from emerging markets. Once again, P&G is the No. 1 company in The Top 50, while Colgate-Palmolive is a distant No. 2. Rounding out the top 10 are S.C. Johnson, Estée Lauder, Avon Products, Ecolab, Johnson & Johnson, Clorox, Alberto-Culver and Johnson Diversey. We hope you enjoy this edition of The Top 50. As always, we welcome your comments on our ranking, as well as anything else that appears in Happi. Be sure to read the August issue of our magazine, which will include The International Top 30, our annual look at the largest manufacturers of household and personal products with corporate headquarters outside of the U.S.  Tom Branna Editorial Director tomb@rodpub.com
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