Kimberly-Clark Operates in Four Different

Kimberly-Clark operates in four different industries -- personal care, consumer tissue, professional and health care. Each of these industries is similar in that they are oriented towards multinational competition, with firms operating in monopolistic competition, perhaps occasionally facing oligopoly. The company's supply chain, production and distribution are therefore global in nature. In general, Kimberly-Clark is one of the leading firms in its industries. K-C competes against firms such as Georgia-Pacific, Procter & Gamble and Energizer Holdings in some of its segments.

In most industries, there are only two or three major competitors. The industries in which Kimberly-Clark competes are mature industries, characterized by strong competition among a limited number of players. Private labels are increasingly a form of competition. K-C relies on distribution, brand-building and product differentiation through marketing in order to build and maintain market share, and these are the key success drivers for other firms in its industries as well. These industries in general are subject to slow growth, as they are consumer staples.

In recent years, demand has declined slightly as the result of the economic downturn, but in general demand tracks economic and population growth in the company's mature markets. Only in rapidly growing emerging markets are there significant prospects for growth. The industry relies on major retailers for a significant portion of its sales. For example, Kimberly-Clark derives between 13-14% of its sales from Wal-Mart (Kimberly-Clark 2009 Annual Report).

Firms in the industry are also dependent on the cost of raw materials such as cellulose fiber and synthetic absorbents, and can be subject to adverse price movements in these commodities. The trend towards increasing dependence on major retailers and the trend towards the need for international markets for growth are the two most important trends in the industry.

Kimberly-Clark began in the 19th century and began strong growth in the 1920s when it entered into a deal with the New York Times to build a pulp mill in northern Ontario. K-C covers a broad range of international markets with 53% of sales coming from the U.S., almost 17% from Europe and 35% from other countries. The company's sales are split between personal care (44%), consumer tissue (33.5%) and professional (15.7%) being the most important. The company has not engaged in any significant merger and acquisition transactions of late.

The company has been relatively stable with respect to recent developments of all types. The company's earnings have been growing slowly in recent years. Profit has been in the $1.8 billion range in three of the past four years. The company is.