08.01.23
Japan
www.lion.co.jp
Sales: $2.5 billion
Key Personnel: Masazumi Kikukawa, representative director and chairman of the board of directors; Masayuki Takemori, representative director, president and executive officer
Major Products: Oral care, beauty, pharmaceuticals, fabric care, wellness, household care, I&I detergents, specialty chemicals, and other products such as pet supplies and dental materials
Comments: For more than 130 years, Lion has been extolling the virtues of brushing one’s teeth and washing clothes—and selling products that help consumers accomplish these daily tasks.
“In the 131 years since our founding, we have helped people to achieve healthy minds and bodies by proposing and establishing improvements to daily habits such as tooth brushing and laundry. We believe that we can best contribute to society through this unique approach,” wrote Masazumi Kikukawa, chairman of the board of directors, in a recent company report.
This also helps Lion’s bottom line.
According to Kikukawa, “creating habits is very effective because it creates new markets for our products and grows existing markets. For example, in the past 50 years in Japan the average number of times an individual brushes their teeth each day has increased from once to twice, resulting in a fourfold increase in the toothpaste market. Developing good habits is the basis of Lion’s purpose—in addition to being our way of contributing to society, it is directly linked to the enhancement of the company’s economic value. As populations decline, we can no longer expect conventional approaches to expand our markets. That said, we believe that developing new habits is a highly effective way to achieve sustainable market growth.”
Looking ahead, Lion has set its sight on achieving approximately ¥600 billion in net sales by 2030.
Masayuki Takemori, who became representative director, president and executive officer in March, will be instrumental in meeting that goal. Takemori became a brand manager for Lion’s Look household cleaner brand at a time when it was, in his words, “struggling.” His mandate: “Only create products that lead to exciting new cleaning habits.” From that focus came Look Plus Bath Antimold Fogger, a new product for mold that shifted this cleaning practice from after the fact to a daily habit. It was welcomed and expanded the market.
www.lion.co.jp
Sales: $2.5 billion
Key Personnel: Masazumi Kikukawa, representative director and chairman of the board of directors; Masayuki Takemori, representative director, president and executive officer
Major Products: Oral care, beauty, pharmaceuticals, fabric care, wellness, household care, I&I detergents, specialty chemicals, and other products such as pet supplies and dental materials
Comments: For more than 130 years, Lion has been extolling the virtues of brushing one’s teeth and washing clothes—and selling products that help consumers accomplish these daily tasks.
“In the 131 years since our founding, we have helped people to achieve healthy minds and bodies by proposing and establishing improvements to daily habits such as tooth brushing and laundry. We believe that we can best contribute to society through this unique approach,” wrote Masazumi Kikukawa, chairman of the board of directors, in a recent company report.
This also helps Lion’s bottom line.
According to Kikukawa, “creating habits is very effective because it creates new markets for our products and grows existing markets. For example, in the past 50 years in Japan the average number of times an individual brushes their teeth each day has increased from once to twice, resulting in a fourfold increase in the toothpaste market. Developing good habits is the basis of Lion’s purpose—in addition to being our way of contributing to society, it is directly linked to the enhancement of the company’s economic value. As populations decline, we can no longer expect conventional approaches to expand our markets. That said, we believe that developing new habits is a highly effective way to achieve sustainable market growth.”
Looking ahead, Lion has set its sight on achieving approximately ¥600 billion in net sales by 2030.
Masayuki Takemori, who became representative director, president and executive officer in March, will be instrumental in meeting that goal. Takemori became a brand manager for Lion’s Look household cleaner brand at a time when it was, in his words, “struggling.” His mandate: “Only create products that lead to exciting new cleaning habits.” From that focus came Look Plus Bath Antimold Fogger, a new product for mold that shifted this cleaning practice from after the fact to a daily habit. It was welcomed and expanded the market.