Huggies Manufacturer Announces Exit from Nigeria

Dike Onwuamaeze and Gilbert Ekugbe

Kimberly-Clark has announced its decision to shut down its manufacturing plant and exit the Nigerian market.
A statement issued yesterday by KCSSA West Africa Limited, stated that: “Kimberly-Clark today announces that it has made the difficult decision to exit its business in Nigeria after almost 15 years, due to recently refocused company strategic priorities globally as well as economic developments in the country.

“Kimberly-Clark will close its manufacturing facility and commercial office in Lagos and will no longer manufacture, market or sell its Huggies and Kotex products in the country.
“Consistent with Kimberly-Clark’s value of care, the company’s top priority will be to fulfill its obligations and ensure that employees and partners are treated with fairness and respect.”

Until its announced exit, the Kimberly-Clark is a manufacturer of diaper and sanitary pad products.
Kimberlt-Clark would be leaving Nigeria despite making $100 million investments two years ago.
The Nigerian economic development worsened in the past 12 months following the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the Naira in the foreign exchange market as well as the tight monetary policy of the country’s central bank that has raised interest rates on banks’ credit to business.

These developments left entrepreneurs to contend with high cost of imported raw materials, energy costs, discouragingly exorbitant electricity tariffs and others.  
With the announcement, Kimberly-Clark would be following the footsteps of KSG, a multinational pharmaceutical manufacturing company and the Procter & Gamble amongst others that have exited from Nigeria.
Last week, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in its Manufacturers CEO Confidence Index, called on the federal government to address the challenges facing their operations.