Albertson's Takes Its Vitamin C
ell Laboratories here has announced that Albertson's, Boise, Idaho, is the latest retail chain to pick up its Hydrox-C skin-care line for distribution. Hydrox-C formulations combine three kinds of vitamin C with alpha hydroxy acid and are designed for daily use by people of all skin types. Albertson's stores in Florida and Texas will carry five Hydrox-C stock-keeping units, according to the supplier. Suggested retail price is less than $10.
First Quarter Spurt for Colgate
NEW YORK -- Citing improved gross profit margin and reduced overhead, Colgate-Palmolive Co. here has reported strong net-income growth on flat sales for the first quarter, ended March 31.
Net income grew by 15.6% to $196 million, or 65 cents per share, from $169.6 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago. Despite the successful introduction of Colgate Total toothpaste to the U.S. market -- Total is already the country's top-selling toothpaste variant -- overall first-quarter sales grew by only .6%, to $2.16 billion from $2.15 billion in 1997. The company said sales would have increased by 9% if not for foreign currency fluctuations. (In Asia, for example, Colgate's sales fell by 10% due to economic difficulties and currency declines in that region.)
