Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (ロート製薬株式会社) is a multinational corporation specializing in fast-moving consumer goods and pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Ikuno-ku, Osaka, Japan. Its revenues have grown steadily, from ¥95,619 million in 2006 to ¥120,292 million in 2011. Skin care products account for 61.3% of its revenue, while eye care products contribute 21% to overall sales.

Market Segments

Rohto is active in the three consumer segments of:

International presence

In 1975, Rohto gained trademark rights to Mentholatum from The Mentholatum Company Inc., leading to the manufacture and successful sales of Mentholatum Ointment and Mentholatum Medicated Lip Stick. Rohto acquired The Mentholatum Company Inc. in June 1988. Rohto operates in 15 major markets and has marketing/distribution agreements in over 150 countries globally. It has two production plants in Japan and six across the US, UK, China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Rohto entered the Vietnam market in 1997 and established manufacturing bases to serve the Asia Pacific region. In mid-2010, Rohto entered the Indian and Bangladeshi markets. The company has close to 5,000 employees.

History

Yasutami Yamada (山田 安民) founded "" in Osaka, on February 22, 1899. They introduced "Rohto Eyedrops" in 1909. The name "Rohto" was inspired by August von Rothmund, a German ophthalmologist who was a professor for Toyotaro Inoue (井上 豊太郎), a Japanese ophthalmologist.

Brands

Head Office and Subsidiaries

Footnotes