Financial News

Despite a wavering economy, all of the U.S. prestige beauty categories enjoyed healthy growth in 2012, according to global information company the NPD Group, which presented in late January the U.S. and global beauty industry's first look at 2012 year-end results for skin care, makeup and fragrance at its annual "Hot off the Press" event at the Harmonie Club in New York.

Cosmetic Executive Women — a professional organization in the beauty, cosmetics, fragrance and related industries — partnered with the NPD Group to host this year's event.

Pet supplies may have had limited growth this past year, but the stars of the segment are healthcare-related products. Pet supplies saw a 2% increase, bringing sales to $11.1 billion, according to Packaged Facts. The market research firm projects that this year, pet supplies will grow 4% over 2012 sales.

When Supervalu announced this past summer a review of strategic alternatives, its goals were to improve its business, better position the company for the future and create the best opportunity to deliver shareholder value. This effort has led to the sale of 877 stores to AB Acquistion.

Following the sale, Supervalu will consist of its wholesaler business, which serves 1,950 stores across the country; Save-A-Lot with approximately 1,300 stores across 35 states; and Supervalu's regional retail food banners Cub, Farm Fresh, Shoppers, Shop 'n Save and Hornbacher's.

A sick child leads to one certainty: parents in search of safe and effective symptom relievers that will allow their child — and subsequently, themselves — to get some rest.

Americans are seeking a brighter smile, and research and sales data suggest that they are increasingly turning to whitening toothpastes and even mouthwash to help whiten teeth.

According to research released from Mintel in August 2012, only 10% of those looking for brighter smiles took a seat in the dentist chair for a professional whitening service. What's interesting is that according to the findings, 41% of respondents said they had tried to whiten their teeth in the prior 12 months using toothpaste, while 17% had tried at-home mouthwash and 15% tried OTC whitening strips.

The energy drink category, which has enjoyed double-digit sales and unit growth for several years, faces increasing scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA has said it will consider requiring companies to disclose the amount of caffeine in the drinks and add warnings about possible side effects on labeling.

When Albertson's LLC announced last month that its parent company, AB Acquisition, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, signed an agreement to acquire 877 stores from Supervalu in a deal valued at some $3.3 billion — a move that will reunite all Albertsons stores under one operator — it recast the rankings of the industry's leading pharmacy retailers.

Homeopathy is hopping. Sales of many of the homeopathy brands represent some of the fastest-growing products across the OTC landscape these days, as evidenced by the number of brands escalating on the top 10 lists across several categories. Overall, sales of homeopathic medicines totaled $1.3 billion for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 22, up 8% according to SPINS, which tracks sales across both the natural channel (excluding Whole Foods) and mass retailers.