SCA’s business

INCONTINENCE PRODUCTS

Offering and market position: SCA offers a broad range of incontinence products under the TENA brand and is the global market leader. SCA’s offering, which includes both products and services, improves the quality of life for consumers. They reduce costs for institutional customers, such as nursing homes. SCA’s offering also includes an assortment of skincare products, wet wipes and wash gloves. Through TENA Solutions, SCA helps nursing homes provide the best care by offering procedures, analysis tools and training. The advantages include improved well-being for the care recipients, a better workplace environment for the caregivers, less resource consumption and lower overall costs.

SCA products (photo)

SCA’s global market share in incontinence products is approximately double that of the second largest player. SCA is the market leader in Europe, Asia (excluding Japan) and Latin America.

Strategy: SCA is prioritizing activities to strengthen TENA’s global market-leading position by driving profitable growth and expanding at a faster rate than the market. Growth is to be achieved by increasing market shares and penetration and by broadening the customer offering by increasing sales in such segments as skincare products and wet wipes. Innovation activities are important and involve understanding customer and consumer needs in order to continuously enhance products and services and develop the offering to further increase customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. In North America, the situation for SCA’s TENA brand has been more challenging and the priority has been to achieve satisfactory profitability ahead of sales growth. Actions have been taken to reduce costs, discontinue unprofitable products and focus on fewer but more profitable products. For example, TENA Overnight Underwear was launched in North America in 2016.

Use of incontinence products

Personal Care – Use of incontinence products (bar chart)Personal Care – Use of incontinence products (bar chart)

Data is based on market data and SCA’s estimates.

Since incontinence is surrounded by social taboos in many regions of the world, it is vital to raise understanding and acceptance of the condition to enhance the quality of life for people suffering from incontinence. SCA does this by:

  • Working actively to break the taboos surrounding incontinence and continuing to invest to increase market penetration by providing information and through marketing activities, training and global forums. Focusing in the retail trade on information, advertising and the development of increasingly discreet, comfortable, easy-to-use and effective products, always with customer and consumer benefits in mind.
  • Arranging seminars and educational programs for nurses and professional caregivers within the scope of the health and medical care systems in various countries.
  • Working with decision-makers and governments in different countries to help establish sustainable reimbursement systems.

Greater digital focus

Secure Absorption Zone (photo)

Purchasing incontinence products online is both convenient and discreet. SCA’s strategy is – through its TENA brand – to increase online sales of incontinence products to consumers. A greater digital focus also requires the use of digital solutions to improve efficiency, build customer and consumer loyalty, continuously develop SCA’s e-commerce solutions to make it even easier to order incontinence products and create awareness of incontinence via social platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube. For consumers, the benefits are easy-to-access information about incontinence and the opportunity to simply and discreetly order incontinence products from one of SCA’s e-commerce partners or one of TENA’s 17 e-commerce platforms worldwide. For customers and care providers, this creates an opportunity to offer services over and above the physical product. Examples of these include online training courses, home delivery of online orders and loyalty programs.

BABY DIAPERS

Libresse packagings (photo)

Offering and market position: SCA offers open baby diapers and pant baby diapers, as well as baby care products such as wet wipes, shampoo, lotion and baby oil. In Europe, SCA markets baby diapers under its own Libero brand and under retailers’ brands. SCA is the world’s fourth largest player in the segment and the second largest in Europe. SCA’s strongest market is the Nordic region, where the Libero brand is the market leader. Examples of other strong regional brands are Drypers in Southeast Asia and Pequeñin in South America.

Use of baby diapers

Personal Care – Use of baby diapers (bar chart)Personal Care – Use of baby diapers (bar chart)

Data is based on market data and SCA’s estimates.

Strategy: SCA works to strengthen its branded positions in both mature and emerging markets and to improve the profitability in the baby diapers segment. The strategy is to hold the number one or two position in the selected markets in which SCA is represented. For baby diapers, it is important to have a premium or super-premium product offering in order to be competitive. Through continuous innovation activities, SCA develops its customer offering for both its branded and retailer-branded product ranges. In 2016, the Libero brand launched a new premium offering, Libero Newborn and Libero Comfort. As part of efforts to address weak market positions with inadequate profitability, SCA closed its baby diaper operations in Mexico in the fourth quarter of 2016. The decision was also made in 2016 to discontinue the hygiene business in India, the majority of which was related to baby diapers. The discontinuation will take place in the first quarter of 2017.

Mother with her baby (photo)
Libero Club (logo)

The Libero Club is a platform for discussion, advice and information. 75% of Libero’s target audience in the Nordic region are members of the club. The Libero Club facilitates a dialog between Libero and parents as well as between the parents.

FEMININE CARE

Libero packagings (photo)

Offering and market position: In feminine care, SCA offers a broad product portfolio that includes pads, panty liners, tampons, intimate soaps and intimate wipes. SCA is the world’s sixth largest player in the segment and the third largest in Europe. SCA is the market leader in Latin America.

A large and growing share of SCA’s sales takes place in emerging markets such as Latin America, Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Examples of regional brands supported by SCA’s global brand platform include Libresse in the Nordic region, Russia and Malaysia, Bodyform in the UK, Nana in France, the Middle East and North Africa, and Saba and Nosotras in Latin America.

Use of feminine care products

Personal Care – Use of feminine care products (bar chart)Personal Care – Use of feminine care products (bar chart)

Data is based on market data and SCA’s estimates.

Strategy: SCA’s strategy is to be the fastest growing feminine care brand globally and to increase sales while maintaining good profitability. SCA uses innovation to improve customer offerings and broaden the product category with such items as intimate wipes and intimate soaps to increase market share and brand loyalty. The Group’s feminine care brand platform and global advertising campaigns enable SCA to reach more consumers in various geographic markets with the same product improvements. SCA endeavors to break the taboos surrounding menstruation and promote awareness of hygiene and menstruation. Educational programs are arranged in Latin America, Asia and Europe that aim to educate girls about what happens to their bodies during puberty and when they have their period.

SCA invests to promote awareness of hygiene

“Red.Fit” campaign (photo)

There is a clear link between good hygiene, better health and a greater sense of well-being. SCA has the knowledge, experience and drive to contribute to an improvement in hygiene standards worldwide. Through our educational program, which reaches 2,000,000 people annually, SCA promotes awareness of, and breaks the silence and taboos surrounding, hygiene-related issues such as incontinence and menstruation. In 2016, SCA published its fifth Hygiene Matters report, which aims to stimulate global dialog on the theme of hygiene, health and well-being. This year’s report – based on a global survey – was published for the first time in partnership with the UN Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). Some 12,000 people from 12 countries were surveyed, gathering their perspectives on hygiene, health and well-being.

In 2016, SCA launched “Red.fit” – a global campaign with the motto “No blood should hold us back” to promote awareness of the various phases of the menstrual cycle.