Recently, according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, Johnson & Johnson (China) Limited (referred to as “Johnson & Johnson China”) has undergone another change in its business registration information. Declan Timothy Rooney has stepped down as the legal representative, and ARPAPORN SAMABHANDHU has taken over, with the latter being publicly announced as the Chairman and General Manager.
This change in key personnel comes just one year after the previous one for Johnson & Johnson China. It was noted that for a period of time in 2023, Declan Timothy Rooney publicly held the position of President of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health in China.
In August 2023, Johnson & Johnson announced the completion of the spin-off of its consumer health business, with the new consumer health products company, Kenvue, operating independently. In September of the same year, the Chinese name for Kenvue, “Kenvue,” was officially announced. On September 22nd, the first Kenvue China Innovation Open Day event was successfully held in Shanghai, where Declan Timothy Rooney delivered a speech in his new role as President of Kenvue China.
In November 2023, Declan Timothy Rooney also attended a cooperative exchange meeting with senior executives from Xiaohongshu’s business department as President of Kenvue China. Regarding this change in key personnel, Johnson & Johnson China’s related PR personnel responded to CHAILEEDO, stating that “Declan Timothy Rooney has indeed stepped down as the President of Kenvue China, and the brand is currently undergoing an internal transition. The new CEO has not been officially announced yet.”
After the spin-off, Kenvue China appoints a new CEO
According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, apart from Johnson & Johnson China completing its business registration changes, the legal representatives of Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Co., Ltd., and Beijing DaBao Cosmetics Co., Ltd. have all been changed to ARPAPORN SAMABHANDHU.
Although the official response regarding the personnel changes is still undergoing transition, the successor to Declan Timothy Rooney may have already been determined. On January 5, 2024, the State Drug Administration’s official media, “China Pharmaceutical News,” published an article titled “New Year’s Greetings | Kenvue China President ARPAPORN SAMABHANDHU.” The article stated that ARPAPORN SAMABHANDHU extended New Year’s greetings as the President of Kenvue China, expressing a commitment to “explore high-quality and innovative health management solutions in collaboration with various parties, and contribute to the construction of a healthy China and the high-quality development of the pharmaceutical industry.”
Furthermore, according to the official WeChat account of the Department of Investment Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce, on January 17, the Department held the first meeting of the Consumer Health Working Group of the Life and Health Industry Cross-border Cooperation Committee. Companies such as Kenvue and Reckitt Benckiser participated in the meeting. ARPAPORN SAMABHANDHU attended and gave a speech in his capacity as the President of Kenvue China, stating, “The successful establishment of the Consumer Health Working Group will provide new impetus for the transformation and upgrading of the industry and create more opportunities for the high-quality development and long-term sustainable growth of the Chinese consumer health industry.”
In addition, a LinkedIn user named Gift Arpaporn Samabhandhu recently posted a public update stating, “Over the past 18 months, I have been proud and grateful to lead an amazing Asian metropolis organization. In January 2024, I will assume a new role as the President of Kenvue China. I am honored to succeed Mr. Declan Rooney, who will serve as the Managing Director of the Asian Metropolis in the new year.” CHAILEEDO discovered through comparison that the publicly shared photo of this LinkedIn user is the same as the one mentioned in the “China Pharmaceutical News” and the Ministry of Commerce’s reports about ARPAPORN SAMABHANDHU, the President of Kenvue China. This means that ARPAPORN SAMABHANDHU has taken over as the President of Kenvue China, replacing Declan Timothy Rooney.
According to the LinkedIn profile, Gift Arpaporn Samabhandhu joined Johnson & Johnson in September 2021. From September 2021 to June 2022, they were responsible for all Johnson & Johnson operations in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. From July 2022 to April 2023, they held the position of Vice President and Regional Managing Director of Johnson & Johnson Asian Metropolis Consumer Health. From May to December 2023, they served as Vice President and Regional General Manager of Johnson & Johnson Asian Metropolis (Southeast Asia and North Asia). Prior to this, Gift Arpaporn Samabhandhu held positions such as Consumer Healthcare Area Director at Sanofi (Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea), Market Director at Danone Indonesia, and responsible for new product development and juice business at Coca-Cola Thailand.
Last year, in the first three quarters, Kenvue sales reached $11.778 billion
Public information shows that Johnson & Johnson was established in 1886 and has over 260 operating companies in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide, with over 130,000 employees. In order to enhance the independence and focus of its business segments, in November 2021, Johnson & Johnson initiated its largest restructuring plan in its 135-year history. It recombined its three major businesses: pharmaceuticals and medical devices merged to form “New Johnson & Johnson,” while consumer products and personal health care businesses operated independently. The two companies were separately listed.
In September 2022, “Kenvue” was officially born. In May 2023, Kenvue was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In September 2023, the Chinese name “Kenvue” for Kenvue China was officially announced, marking the beginning of a new chapter for Kenvue China. In fact, before the official spin-off, Kenvue’s predecessor had been deeply involved in China for more than 30 years. Looking at its brand portfolio, Kenvue’s strength is not to be underestimated. It has 44 brands, with four brands exceeding $1 billion in scale and 20 brands exceeding $150 million in scale. Many of its brands have gained deep trust from Chinese consumers and have become part of their daily lives.
Specifically, Kenvue’s business is divided into three segments: Skin Health and Beauty, including 16 brands such as Neutrogena, Aveeno, Dr.Ci:Labo, and Dabao; foundational health, which includes wound care, oral care, baby care, and women’s health brands, including Listerine, OB tampons, and the infant care brand Vivvi & Bloom, which was newly launched in the US market in August last year; and personal care, which provides over-the-counter drugs and health products, including brands like Tylenol, Motrin, and Zarbee’s.
As a newly established international beauty giant, Kenvue’s revenue has already exceeded 100 billion yuan. According to financial reports, in 2020, Johnson & Johnson’s consumer health and skincare business achieved revenue of 100.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%. Although its performance had a slight decline in 2022, it still remains among the ranks of billion-dollar beauty giants.
According to Kenvue’s financial report for the third quarter of 2023, the company achieved revenue of $11.778 billion, a year-on-year growth of 5.3%. According to Thibaut Mongon, CEO and Director of Kenvue, the company has delivered on its promise of sustainable profit growth, stating, “Our operational performance and strong cash flow demonstrate our leadership position in consumer health.”
In terms of specific business segments, the Self Care division of Kenvue achieved revenue of $4.914 billion, becoming the largest business segment. The Skin Health and Beauty division had sales of $3.377 billion, with a growth of 3.5%. The Essential Health division achieved revenue of $3.487 billion, a year-on-year growth of 0.8%.
It is worth mentioning that in its prospectus, Kenvue listed L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever as benchmark companies for its development. According to the sales figures of the top ten global cosmetic companies in the first half of 2023, Kenvue’s cosmetic business had revenue of $5.56 billion, ranking ninth.
When comparing it to L’Oréal and Unilever, their total revenue is nearly seven times and four times that of Kenvue, respectively. It can be seen that Kenvue still has some gap to bridge when compared to the top two beauty conglomerates.
Kenvue continued investment in the Chinese market
According to public reports, currently, Kenvue has around 1,800 employees in China, with over 100 scientists in its research and development center focusing on developing new products for the Chinese and Asia-Pacific markets. In China, Kenvue’s business covers multiple fields, including over-the-counter drugs, medical devices, healthcare products, and cosmetics. It has four factories in Shanghai and Beijing, achieving over 90% localization in product manufacturing.
There is a public statement that global cosmetics growth is centered around China. Currently, the Chinese market is the largest overseas market for many international beauty conglomerates. However, based on the third-quarter financial reports of various foreign beauty giants last year, the performance of most foreign-owned beauty groups in the Chinese market declined.
According to Kenvue’s financial report for the third quarter of 2023, the Asia-Pacific region, where the Chinese market is located, experienced a decline in performance. The financial report shows that in the first three quarters of last year, Kenvue’s net sales were $2.357 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4%.
Although the Chinese market has been underperforming, Kenvue, like other foreign beauty conglomerates, has been increasing its investment in China and considers it an important battleground that requires careful management.
As Kenvue’s Global CEO, Thibaut Mongon, stated, “Kenvue has achieved tremendous success in the Chinese market over the past 30 years and remains optimistic about future development. By continuing to invest in China, upgrading supply chain capabilities, and introducing global innovations, Kenvue hopes to meet the evolving health consumption needs of the Chinese market.”
For example, in February of last year, Kenvue’s brand Dr. Ci:Labo opened its first medical beauty clinic in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The medical beauty clinic focuses on integrating clinically proven effective skincare products with professional medical beauty procedures, endorsing retail products with a medical beauty gene. In the era of efficacy, more and more skincare brands are entering the field of medical beauty. Dr. Ci:Labo’s move undoubtedly expands the boundaries of customer base, channels, and usage scenarios, enhancing its overall brand assets.
In December of the same year, Kenvue announced an investment of 110 million yuan ($15.32 million) to expand its production capacity and upgrade production facilities in the Chinese market, bringing high-quality products to more Chinese consumers and improving the company’s competitiveness in the Chinese market.
At the same time, Kenvue has also achieved some success in expanding its e-commerce channels in China. On the Tmall platform, the official flagship store of Neutrogena has 1.54 million followers, with the highest-selling product being the Second Generation A-Retinol Cream, with over 10,000 payments in the past 30 days, ranking fifth in the pre-sale list of soothing creams. On the Douyin platform, according to Feigua data, Dabao and Neutrogena had sales of 1-2.5 million yuan ($139,300-$348,200) and 750,000-1 million yuan ($104,459.25-$139,300), respectively, in the past seven days.
It is worth mentioning that since the beginning of the year, there have been frequent changes in the senior management of foreign-owned beauty conglomerates in China. Recently, L’Oréal (China) Co., Ltd. underwent a change in business registration, with Vincent BOINAY replacing Fabrice MEGARBANE as the legal representative and chairman and general manager of L’Oréal China. In addition, according to CHAILEEDO, the General Manager of Sephora Greater China, Chen Bing, has resigned as of January 19th. During the transition period, Alia Gogi, the President of Sephora Asia, will directly manage the business in Greater China.
As the saying goes, the beginning of the year is crucial. From the significant personnel changes among various beauty giants at the beginning of the year, in the context of weak consumer demand, these groups are frequently reorganizing to seek further growth in uncertain environments. With the infusion of new blood, whether the beauty conglomerates can achieve breakthroughs in the Chinese market will ultimately be determined by the market.
