7. Johnson & Johnson
New Brunswick, NJ
www.jnj.com

Corporate Sales: $65 billion

Beauty Sales: $7.7 billion ($3.7, skincare; $2.4, baby care; $1.6, oral care)

Key Personnel: William C. Weldon, chairman; Alex Gorsky, chief executive officer; Jesse Wu, worldwide chairman, consumer group; Michael H. Ullmann, VP, general counsel.

Major Products: Aveeno, Clean & Clear, Johnson’s Adult, Johnson’s Baby, Neutrogena, RoC, Desitin, Lubriderm, Shower to Shower, Dabao, Vendôme, Listerine, Reach.

New Products: Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunblock Spray, Neutrogena All-in-One Acne Control, Neutrogena Naturals face and lip products, Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Sunblock, Aveeno Smart Essentials, Sundown Suncare, Listerine Zero.

Comments: Despite another year plagued by the recall of several OTC products, J&J’s corporate sales rose 5.6% following two years of declines. Consumer sales rose 2% to $14.9 billion.

Growth within the consumer segment received a boost from emerging markets, with sales of skin care products rising 7.6% in 2011 to $3.7 billion due to gains from Neutrogena, Dabao, Johnson’s Adult and Le Petit Marseillais.

Baby care sales rose 5.9% to $2.4 billion with growth in cleansers, wipes and hair care sales.
Oral care sales rose 6.4% to $1.6 billion due to higher sales of Listerine.

Like other of our Top 20 companies, J&J also focused on innovation in key brands, introducing Neutrogena Naturals and Aveeno Smart Essentials, as well as Listerine Zero.

J&J made strides with sustainable packaging with its line of Sundown Suncare products, launched in new bottles made from renewable raw materials—sugarcane-based polyethylene, developed by Braskem, which contains 60% green plastic and 40% recycled material.

For the second quarter of 2012, J&J announced sales of $16.5 billion, down 0.7% compared to the second quarter of 2011. Domestic sales decreased 1.2%. International sales decreased 0.4%.

Worldwide Consumer sales reached $3.6 billion, a decrease of 4.6% versus the prior year. Domestic sales decreased 1.9% to $1.3 billion. International sales dropped 6% to $2.3 billion. International sales of oral care products, Neutrogena skin care products and baby care products were bright spots on the bottom line.Overall, skin care gained nearly 5% in the U.S., but dropped almost 8% internationally.

William C. Weldon (pictured) stepped down as chief executive at J&J, and Alex Gorsky took over the role.

The company has undergone several key personnel changes this year. In February, William C. Weldon stepped down as chief executive and Alex Gorsky, head of the medical device and diagnostics business, took over as chief executive. Weldon remains as chairman. Vice chairman Sheri S. McCoy resigned in April to become CEO of Avon Products. In September, J&J announced that Sandra E. Peterson would join the company December 1, as group worldwide chairman and member of the company’s executive committee. She will have responsibility for the Consumer Group of Companies, Information Technology, and Global Supply Chain.

Major changes were announced relating to some of the company’s mega products as well. In response to regulatory and consumer pressure, in August, J&J announced that it would remove carcinogens and other toxic chemicals from its baby and adult products globally. J&J told the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that it would reformulate its hundreds of cosmetics and personal care products in all the markets it serves in 57 countries around the world. An internal target date of the end of 2015 was provided.