PT Softex is one of Indonesia's leading personal care products companies, with top three market share positions across the baby, adult and feminine care categories, and a popular portfolio of brands including Sweety, Softex and Confidence.
Supporting a business poised to deliver growth
Indonesia's emerging middle class and rapid urbanisation has increased the consumer demand for convenient lifestyle products. With its local knowledge and track record of successful investments in Indonesia, CVC saw that Softex had the potential for substantial growth.
CVC took a significant minority stake in Softex in 2015, and a further stake in 2017. CVC worked with the company to grow top-line sales through increased market share and improve margins by optimising operational and manufacturing capabilities. This was achieved through:
- The introduction of new SKUs and stronger supplier relationships
- Segmenting the product range into premium, mid and economy tiers
- Improving manufacturing processes to facilitate energy efficiencies
- Upgrading and standardising equipment for better product quality, increased capacity and a reduction in raw material usage
Changing perceptions on ESG initiatives
When it came to ESG considerations, the company needed more hands-on leadership from CVC and together we worked to provide training to staff, improve measurement and reporting on a range of metrics and implement a carbon reduction roadmap.
Bringing household brands together
By 2020, Softex's revenues and EBITDA had more than doubled. Its excellent manufacturing facilities and robust go-to-market distribution network made it a highly attractive proposition and the business was acquired by Kimberly-Clark in a strategic step to expand Kimberly-Clark's presence in Southeast Asia.