Kimberly-Clark's continual transformation, which began in the early 1970s, has kept the company vibrant while some once-powerful industrial giants have fallen by the wayside.Irving-based Kimberly-Clark Corp., the owner of the Kleenex brand, reported quarterly sales that trailed estimates, partially driven by retailers lowering their stocks of the company’s bath tissue and intensifying private-label competition.
Organic sales growth, which strips out factors such as currency volatility, was 4% in the second quarter, falling short of the average analyst estimate of 5%. Revenue dropped from the same period a year ago, mostly due to weaker results at the company’s tissue segment, which includes toilet paper.Shares of Kimberly-Clark fell 2.5% at 9:41 a.m. in New York trading Tuesday.
Consumer goods makers such as Kimberly-Clark have also been hit by shoppers who are increasingly under pressure as they pay more for basic goods. This means that companies can no longer use higher prices to reliably boost sales as in past years. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue missed Wall Street’s expectations, despite prices in the quarter that were 2% higher than a year earlier.
Kimberly-Clark has said it can generate more than $3 billion in gross productivity gains and $500 million in working capital savings over the next several years. It’s achieving this, in part, with automation including robotics, and by simplifying manufacturing and distribution facilities.Warehouse club chain Costco is working to put a new store in the Kaufman County town of Forney, one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.