P.M. BRIEFING : Kao Shifts Control Overseas
Japanese consumer products giant Kao Corp. said today it is shifting worldwide control of two divisions to the United States and West Germany, an unusual move for a Japanese company.
A company spokesman said the heads of the divisions will be an American and a West German.
He said its floppy disk division will be controlled by its subsidiary Kao Infosystems Co. in Hyannis, Mass., because sales of the disks in the United States are several times more than in Japan.
With new plants coming on stream in North America and Spain, Kao’s global output of floppy disks in 1990 will rise to 250 million units from 170 million last year, when sales were worth $489 million, he said.
The spokesman said control of hair-care products is being moved to its subsidiary Goldwell based in Darmstadt, where the firm is building a $139-million research laboratory.
