The conservatively upbeat outlook for this year is tempered by the obvious slowness in other areas of the economy that affect the chemical industry, though the personal care products category has been a bright spot. The overall business declined by 6.2% in 2009, its second drop following a 4.7% fall in 2008.
We’d like to think that made the personal care sector stand out isn’t just the power of consumer demand — though we obviously can’t begin to discount that. Some of the credit, according to industry pundits and analysts, goes to the the very qualities we rely upon for our own success here at Coast Southwest (but which are certainly not exclusive to us): a high degree of customer engagement, leading to partnered innovation resulting in strong product offerings in these burgeoning segments.
These product categories are intensively competitive, and demand constant development of new formulations, new ideas and new approaches. That takes imagination, communication and collaboration, on an intense level. Just because a given category is accelerating is no guarantee of success; indeed, that situation presents its own challenges and potential for missteps. And just because the analytics and predictions indicate an upswing, where 2010 will really succeed or fail is “on the ground” — through the continual effort and focus of the people making the breakthroughs and connections necessary to drive that success.
Simplistic? Maybe. But it’s interesting how, time and again, success or failure comes back to these evergreen basics.
