To call Smith & Nephew (S&N) a work in progress is an understatement. It used to be known for Elastoplast, Lil-Lets and Nivea cream, but they were sold 22 years ago in a strategic decision to exit the consumer market and make advanced medical devices.
The group has become a wide-ranging medical equipment and treatment maker. Bandages have turned into advanced wound management, as part of a portfolio that takes in sports medicine, orthopaedic reconstruction and the sobering traumas and extremities.
But, in opting out of competition with Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson for the consumer pound and dollar, the group has taken itself into a world every bit as competitive, with the added headache of selling to the toughest customers: state-owned health
