Tom Branna, Editorial Director02.20.21
No doubt Clorox has cleaned up during the pandemic as consumers clamor for wipes, sprays and other household cleaners. In fact, the company is making 1.5 million disinfecting wipes canisters a day, a 50% increase from fiscal Q1, according to CEO Linda Rendle.
“People are adopting cleaning as more of a thing around safety and wellness, not just a chore,” said Rendle in an interview with CNBC. "We see consumers looking for more transparency in ingredients and that's why we've led the industry on being transparent around what's in our products."
Demand for wipes and other cleaning products pushed Clorox to raise its expectations for fiscal 2021 sales growth to 10-13%, up from initial projections of 5-9%. In fiscal Q2, Clorox said health & wellness segment sales rose 42%, international sales increased 23%, household sales rose 20% and lifestyle sales improved 9%.
Cleaning and disinfecting are having their day during COVID-19, but Rendle said Clorox is committed to improving its environmental footprint and product transparency. Prior to the pandemic, the company introduced compostable wipes, but the rollout was scuttled as Clorox rushed to meet demand for traditional wipes and had to produce SKUs that could be produced faster. Now, Rendle said the company will reintroduce the compostable variant later this year.
"We're going to continue that focus to give consumers the information they need and we are looking at ways to make our products more sustainable over time."
At the same time, Rendle noted that Clorox has terrific brands and is prepared to go on "100% offense" to better serve more people around the world.
“People are adopting cleaning as more of a thing around safety and wellness, not just a chore,” said Rendle in an interview with CNBC. "We see consumers looking for more transparency in ingredients and that's why we've led the industry on being transparent around what's in our products."
Demand for wipes and other cleaning products pushed Clorox to raise its expectations for fiscal 2021 sales growth to 10-13%, up from initial projections of 5-9%. In fiscal Q2, Clorox said health & wellness segment sales rose 42%, international sales increased 23%, household sales rose 20% and lifestyle sales improved 9%.
Cleaning and disinfecting are having their day during COVID-19, but Rendle said Clorox is committed to improving its environmental footprint and product transparency. Prior to the pandemic, the company introduced compostable wipes, but the rollout was scuttled as Clorox rushed to meet demand for traditional wipes and had to produce SKUs that could be produced faster. Now, Rendle said the company will reintroduce the compostable variant later this year.
"We're going to continue that focus to give consumers the information they need and we are looking at ways to make our products more sustainable over time."
At the same time, Rendle noted that Clorox has terrific brands and is prepared to go on "100% offense" to better serve more people around the world.