Magazine: Strong brands in a digital age

In May Henkel celebrated 30 years in Hungary with a spectacular event. The host was managing director Dr Ágnes Fábián, who had been elected president of Branded Goods Association Hungary (BGA) two weeks earlier.

_{Dr Ágnes Fábián
president
Branded Goods Association Hungary}

T. M.: – Several hundred employees and business partners were present at the 30th birthday party of Henkel Hungary, where Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó was the keynote speaker. Is your relationship with the government this good?

– Mr Szijjártó’s presence shows that Henkel is a fair and reliable partner to the country’s economic policy. The government acknowledges our efforts as an investor, employer and taxpayer.

T. M.: – Those who were there could hear about the past and the future of Henkel, the challenges ahead of the company and the brand – in some cases futuristic technological solutions were used to present these. I have never seen a hologram presentation – the one that introduced your latest innovations – in Hungary before.

– It wasn’t only about the technology used that mattered, there was something more present there. We are a unified team, we pay attention to each other and to our environment. We have a strong vision for working sustainably and ethically in the economy and in society.

T. M.: – What are the key trends today? Is it changes in technology, consumption or retail that matter the most?

– We are living in an exciting period when everything is in connection with everything. There are no ready-made answers to questions any more. If we ask the questions well, we have a bigger chance for keeping up with the constant changes. Henkel is a market leader, so it is us who must sit in the driver’s seat.

T. M.: – What are these questions and where is Henkel’s car going?

– The fundamental question is what makes an FMCG brand relevant in the digital world. In the physical world the manufacturer manufactures, the retailer sells and consumers are buying. In the digital world channels of retail and marketing are merging faster and faster. For instance Amazon is capable of changing a product’s price in a second if it sells better at that price.

T. M.: – Isn’t it a bit like a sci-fi movie? One will always have to go to the shop to buy bread and milk…

– Today we do go to a shop if we run out of bread or milk, but it is possible that tomorrow the shop will come to us. For instance Dutch company Picnic doesn’t stock goods at all, customers order products using a smartphone app, pay for them and it is only then that the company gets the goods from the FMCG manufacturers and starts free delivery. They only use electric vans which always run the same routes. This startup received a EUR 100-million capital injection this spring and plans to conquer the whole country. As for Henkel, you can be sure that we will also develop our futuristic solutions when the time comes.

T. M.: – Let’s sail on domestic waters now. How would you evaluate 2016?

– 2016 was another good year for us, for the third time in a row retail sales grew by 5 percent and the purchasing power of consumers increased. Manufacturer brands were selling well, but the proportion of sales in promotion was still high. The spreading of discount supermarkets is a great challenge for brand manufacturers; the question is whether they can give an answer to the expansion of private label products.

T. M.: – How will work be distributed in BGA’s new presidency? What kind of projects will you start?

– I was elected president in May, in the summer we are going to survey the needs of the presidency and members, and based on the results we will make a strategic and action plan in September. My view is that it is time we revitalised our ‘Strong brands, strong Hungary’ project. In the future we plan to meet the representatives of the press more often, telling them about the positive role of brands and brand building – not only in the business world, but also in educating consumers so that they can make better decisions.