Unicharm's plan for Asian success

Japanese hygiene products manufacturer Unicharm has launched an ambitious expansion plan in Southeast Asia in recent years, taking risks with products deemed too sophisticated for these developing regions, building new factories and acquiring local producers to help it build share and grow sales.

Because the Asian region, offers such an aggressive population growth penetration potential, Unicharm has earmarked it as the most important growth area, and this strategy is working with sales to the Asian market reaching a record high last year.

“Our goal is to build a dominant market presence in Asia, the world’s largest market for nonwoven fabric and absorbent material products,” says Takahisa Takahara, Unicharm CEO. “This will be a key step toward achieving our vision of  becoming a leading company in the global market.

Unicharm is in the midst of a three-year medium-term management plan, during which it has stepped up efforts to expand its reach worldwide, focusing on countries with large populations. Many of these countries, like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, are located in South East Asia. In these markets, Unic