- Consumer good giant
Unilever has reported a decline in demand for its personal grooming products, including razors, shampoo, and deodorant. - In contrast, Unilever's household cleaning products have increased in popularity, with Cif cleaners and Domestos bleach both undergoing double-digits sales growth in the first quarter of 2020.
- One of Unilever's main rivals, Procter and Gamble, reported its biggest quarterly US sales uplift in decades last week.
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Consumer goods giant Unilever has noticed a worrying trend: that people's hygiene is getting worse while they're in quarantine.
Unilever has seen a decline in consumer usage of deodorants and products related to haircare and skincare, suggesting that people care less about personal grooming when they have fewer people to meet.
The group's chief financial officer, Graham Pitkethly, told the Financial Times that Unilever believed people were likely to spend "more time at home, more time cooking — which is good for us — and maybe less [on] personal care occasions."
People's desire for domestic cleanliness doesn't seem to have faded, though.
In fact, London-headquartered Unilever's household said in its quarterly press release that its cleaning products are increasing in popularity, with Cif cleaners and Domestos bleach both undergoing double-digits sales growth in the first quarter of 2020.
Unilever's CEO Alan Jope told the FT that, while people "are shaving less," there's "no doubt people's concern about [household] hygiene has increased ... and the shift to online digital consumption of media and online shopping is something that will be permanent. We will adjust our approach to reflect that."
He added that a quarter of personal care related to people preparing to go to work or school, which would go somehow to explaining the sales slump of its grooming products.
Though Unilever – whose food offerings including Ben & Jerry's ice cream – posted solid overall results, one of its main rivals